The Makings Of A Champion
by EmeraldDragon1
Summary: The prequel to A Deal With A God. Michael's never had it easy, considering his father's been murdered, he has a curse that will last him throughout his life, and on top of that the worst villainous team in Orre's history has made a return run! Can he beat them and still preserve his sanity? Only time will tell.
1. Ch 1: The Beginning

**Okay, so I've had this brilliant idea, I think, of making a prequel to A Deal With A God. You guys keep hearing tidbits of his past, but does anyone wonder what it actually looks like? Well, I'll be writing it out here to satiate your curiosity. I sincerely hope you'll enjoy it. Now then, let's kick this off!**

In the arena, it was his Salamence against the opponent's Metagross. Michael crouched, his battle stance not fully tested in reality, but he didn't mind.

He was dressed in a tight black spandex undershirt and yellow t-shirt, goggles on his face. He also wore baggy blue pants with red lines on the outside of each leg, going down. His face was rounded and kind in appearance. His fiery red hair was held back in part by a blue hairband, but enough poked through, deliberately, to frame his face. The back of his hair came out in large spikes, and the red of his hair was strikingly contrasted by aquamarine-blue eyes behind the goggles.

Reaching forward, he commanded the Salamence

"Use Earthquake!" The dragon pokemon reared up noiselessly, then slammed down and roared, though strangely with no sound, and the arena quaked with the force, and a multitude of cracks in a circle appeared right under the Metagross, slamming it hard. The floor settled back, still cracked slightly but not raised anymore, and the Metagross stumbled back in pain. It struggled for a moment to remain standing, but it soon fell flat on its stomach, the red eyes becoming swirls. A loud ring sounded throughout the arena, and the walls appeared to shimmer, resolving into blue and red cables.

Michael removed his goggles and rested them on his collarbone just as the scene completely dissolved, revealing a small room, and standing on a large machine that took at least half the room. He looked at the two other people in the room, one a boy around his age, ten, and the other his father. The boy said

"Great job as always, Michael! There aren't a lot of people who are as proficient as you when it comes to Sim Battles." Michael just smiled and nodded, and the adult told him

"Anytime you feel like another Sim Battle, you just let us know, okay?" Michael replied affirmatively, then walked out, where he spotted the old man who had a tendency to hang around this floor, in the Pokemon Research Laboratory located northwest of Gateon Port, in the region of Orre. He turned, hearing the door slide open, and said

"Ah, Michael! Just finished another Sim Battle? And dominated?" Michael smirked and replied

"Just something you've seen since I was six, right?" The old man laughed and said

"Yep, that's for sure!" After a moment, he sobered up and looked him up and down, then said softly

"You're just like him, you know. Your father. Spittin' image of him, and even his personality." Michael's face sagged for a moment, and the old man walked up and pulled him into a rough hug.

"It was hard on all of us, but especially you and Lily. Jovi's lucky she didn't see, or understand." Michael just nodded, then said

"You'll have to excuse me, I need to see the Professor." He nodded and said

"Of course. Good luck." Michael nodded and walked back along the small hallway to the transparent elevator. Just as he hit the down button, a flash went through his mind, and for a few moments he saw a lake of blood; that's how it appeared to him. He shook his head hard, and only after a vision of a balled fist did it fade, and he stepped out from the elevator, now on the bottom floor. He walked over to the other laboratory where Professor Krane and his assistant built whatever it was they were building. They'd never told him what it was they were building but he understood it had something to do with his father. He knocked on the door, and Professor Krane's assistant poked his head out, then looked down at Michael.

"Michael? What is it? You know you're not allowed here."

"I was told the Professor wanted to speak with me." The assistant smacked his fist onto his open palm, saying

"Oh, that's right, I forgot! But he's not in here. You should probably try his office above." Michael nodded and walked back to the elevator, going back to the second floor. Then he walked down until he came to the door that was accessible to everyone. He stepped in front of it and waited for it to open, then walked inside.

"Professor?" Two people were inside the room; one of them was a tall, thin, adult male with a mess of light brown hair, closed eyes behind wire-rim glasses, dressed in a light green shirt and tan khakis, covered mostly by a long white lab coat. The other was a petite woman dressed in a pink overcoat. She had a rounded face, though differently shaped than Michael's, but their eyes were exact shades of aquamarine. Her hair was a soft brunette, and in the back it came out to a very large bun, and Michael often wondered how she managed to make it stay up. They both turned to him and the woman said

"Oh, hello Michael!" Michael smiled and replied

"Hey, Mom." Then the Professor spoke, saying

"Glad you made it, Michael! But I'm guessing you were at the Sim Room first, huh?" Michael smirked and said

"Well, that's my home away from home, after all." Krane laughed and said

"Very true, and you certainly do an excellent job in there!" Lily frowned for a moment, then told the Professor

"I don't like it when people praise him too much; it might go to his head one day." The Professor waved her down and said

"Oh, you don't have to worry about it. Jovi and Michael are fine children, and they'll grow up magnificently." Lily thought for a second, then remarked

"You know, I haven't seen Jovi in a while." Then she turned to Michael and asked

"Can you look for her for me? She just runs off whenever it pleases her, and we've already paid for that once." Michael smirked at the memory, then replied

"Sure, I'll look for her. Want me to bring her back here with me?" Lily sighed, then said

"Please. That girl worries me sometimes." Michael nodded and exited the room, taking the elevator back down, then going outside. He passed by the accountant who was sort of a ditz, but everyone couldn't help loving her anyway. Once outside, he looked around for a bit before calling out

"Jovi! Where are you this time?!" One of the inhabitants of the research lab looked at him, asking

"Jovi escape again?" Michael rolled his eyes and replied

"Yeah, and Mom's worried. You seen her?" He shook his head and replied

"No, not me. But I haven't been out here long, so…" Michael nodded and thanked him, then used the other entrance and elevator. He walked into the cafeteria and looked around, but didn't find his sister there, either. Finally he checked in the room where Adon, who tended to play with her, inhabited. He found the man, in his yellow long-sleeve and overalls, under the raised bookshelf. He squatted by it and asked sardonically

"What are you doing?" Adon looked at him very suddenly, then scrambled to get out. Michael stood and stepped back, allowing him the space he needed. After he got out and cracked his back, he said

"I was playing hide-and-seek with Jovi. She's it, but she hasn't found me yet, and we started a half hour ago!" Michael sweatdropped, then said

"You do know who we're talking about, right?" He slumped and replied

"Yeah, I know. That girl has more energy than a Vigoroth and shorter attention span than a Spinda." Michael snorted in laughter, then said

"So, you got any idea where she'd have gone?" Adon smirked and retorted mockingly

"You do know who we're talking about, right?" Michael rolled his eyes and said

"Right… well then, I'm going to check out Kaminko's place. Maybe he's seen her." He walked right out and went back to tell his mother what he was going to do. She simply sighed and told him to bring her back if she really was over there. He nodded and went back outside, the sun shining against his face. He went to the shed out back and took his motor scooter, his most recent birthday present. He hopped on and started it, then took off down the trail.

After ten minutes, he came upon a high stone wall that was crumbling in several places, with many bent spires on top. The place seemed to be covered with a perpetual dark cloud. He shook his head and dismounted, then walked through the fence/prison gates. There was a massively empty courtyard with a dry fountain in the middle. Toward the back was a run-down house, if it could be called that. He approached the house and was going to climb the stairs, but a sudden voice stopped him.

"Halt!" Michael turned to see a small blue-haired, lab-coated, swirly eye-glassed child walking briskly up to him. Then he veritably shouted

"You must be a common burglar! Chobin won't allow anyone past to steal any of the Brilliant Dr. Kaminko's ideas!" Michael tried to explain, but Chobin shouted

"Silence! Chobin cannot stand to deal with petty criminals like yourself, but Dr. Kaminko must not be disturbed!" Then he tossed out a pokeball and released a Sunkern. Michael sighed, then unclipped his own pokeball and threw out his Eevee. He had been a gift from his father the day before his death. The Evolution Pokemon looked back at him, and Michael flashed a grin, which Eevee returned, then focused on his opponent.

"Sunkern, Tackle!" Michael slashed his hand through the air, saying

"Eevee, dodge and Bite!" Eevee nimbly sidestepped the kernel pokemon, then his jaws became cloaked in black power. He lunged forward and bit down on Sunkern, hard. The Sunkern shouted in pain briefly, then wiggled out of Eevee's bite.

"Sunkern, Absorb!" It shot several glowing green seeds at Eevee, too fast to dodge, and stuck on. They glowed more brightly, and Eevee's energy was drained and sent to Sunkern. Eevee panted for a moment, then braced itself and shouted in a challenge.

"Eevee, you alright?" Eevee looked back and flashed a wide grin. Michael grinned himself, then pointed forward and shouted

"Alright, then use Bite again!" The black power cloaked Eevee's mouth again, and he ran forward.

"Sunkern, Tackle!" The Sunkern floated off the ground, then rushed at Eevee.

"Eevee, jump and lunge!" Eevee jumped at the last second, Sunkern's Tackle missing him. He flipped and landed, then lunged forward, biting down on Sunkern again. After a brief shout, Sunkern sank to the ground, its eyes becoming swirls. Chobin shouted with surprise, then quickly returned his pokemon. Michael did the same, and Chobin looked at him again, then said

"Upon closer inspection, the culprit is only a child! You cannot be a burglar!" Michael rolled his eyes, but the sound of opening doors caught both their attentions. They looked back, and another blue-haired child with a white, long-sleeve dress and blue stockings and shoes came out and shouted

"Big brother!" She hopped down the stairs, then ran up to him and asked

"What are you doing here, big brother?" Michael opened his mouth to explain, but Jovi interrupted him before he could even start.

"Oh, Jovi knows! You're lost, aren't you big brother?" Michael frowned for a moment, then opened his mouth again, but again Jovi interrupted.

"Well, don't worry, big brother! Jovi will be happy to show the way home! But first you should come and speak with Dr. Kaminko first!" Without even waiting for an answer, she ran back inside, leaving Michael's mouth hanging open, prepared to talk but never having gotten the chance. Chobin stomped the ground weakly and fumed

"Oh, that girl! She always distracts Dr. Kaminko!" Then he turned to Michael and asked

"So she's your sister?" Michael simply nodded, and Chobin told him

"Very well, then Chobin won't chase you out. Chobin would appreciate it, though, if you kept that infuriating girl away from the brilliant Doctor!" Michael frowned slightly, and Chobin walked up the steps, telling him to follow. After a moment, he did, and he was led down a simple hall, which opened into a large room that sported two entrances/exits. On the wall was a very large television, at least three to five times his own size. Chobin pointed at it and said

"Dr. Kaminko has made many brilliant inventions, and Chobin has recorded his thoughts on these videos. Please, watch this one!" Chobin slipped one in, and the screen came to life, showing Chobin's face way too close to the camera, at a bad angle, and he described with fervor about sandals that had nubs specialized to apply pressure to certain points that would deteriorate one's health. Michael stood there in utter shock, wondering what dimwits would actually buy those sandals. He certainly wouldn't. After it was done, Chobin pulled the tape out and told Michael

"You are free to watch all of Chobin's videos! For now, though I must separate that girl from the Doctor before she distracts him further." He walked off to the door on the left, and Michael stared at the giant tv for a moment.

"Geez, I hope all these brilliant 'inventions' aren't designed to make the consumer miserable." Then he walked in the same direction Chobin had, coming into a medium-sized room, where a large desk was taking up a lot of the room. Sitting at it was an old-looking man with towering white hair. It was almost as tall as himself, and Michael decided it wasn't a feat for his mother to keep her hair up; that would now be reserved for this guy. Jovi was standing next to him, talking too fast to keep track of, while Chobin was bouncing around, trying to get her to leave already, but the Doctor was apparently listening to her, nodding with many of the things she was saying.

Then Jovi noticed the presence of her brother, and she said

"Oh, big brother! Are you ready to go home?" Michael opened his mouth to explain that _she_ was the one wanted home, but he didn't get a word out before she replied

"Okay!" She turned back to Kaminko and told him

"Sorry, Mr. Kaminko, but big brother needs me to take him back home. He's so sad right now!" Kaminko looked at him, and Michael facepalmed, frustrated with his sister for not allowing him to speak whatsoever this entire time. Kaminko smirked and replied

"I understand my dear. But please, come back soon. I rather enjoy your repertoire of ideas." Jovi nodded with an overlarge smile on her face, then ran up to Michael. Then she turned around and called out

"Come on, Mimi!" A pokemon's cry was heard, and Michael looked over Jovi to see a Minun bouncing toward her. It jumped up higher and Jovi caught it, then turned around and said

"Okay, big brother, let's get you home before you burst into tears!" Jovi ran out of the room, and Michael took a few moments to head-bang against the wall. Then he walked out and joined her, and in no time at all they made it home, though Jovi had been trying to direct him the entire way. Lily was waiting for them at the top of the steps, and she sighed in relief when Michael pulled up, then killed the engine. Jovi, who had been riding sidesaddle, hopped down and ran up to their mother, while Michael simply walked coolly.

"Jovi, how many times have I told you not to run off without telling me first?"

"Aww, mommy, Jovi was only with Dr. Kaminko! But she had to lead big brother back home because he became lost, and he was nearly going to cry." Lily looked back to see her son facepalming several times, then smirked and replied

"Is that so? Well, that's very brave of you. But I think you forgot about somebody, Jovi." Jovi thought hard for a moment, a rare occurrence in truth, then her eyes widened and she shouted

"Oh no, Jovi was playing hide-and-seek! Jovi has to go now, big brother, but you're home now!" Then she ran off, and Michael groaned loudly and sat against the nearby fence. Lily giggled, and Michael told her

"I can never get one word in edge-wise, literally. She interrupted me before I could even start!" Lily giggled again, then replied

"You know she doesn't mean to. Thank you, Michael; I know how difficult she can be." After a moment, Michael smiled and said

"You're welcome." Lily nodded, then told him

"By the way, Professor Krane wanted to see you in the lab." Michael smirked and asked

"Which one?"

"_The _lab, Michael." Michael blinked for a moment, then said

"Wait a minute… I thought I wasn't allowed in there except under dire circumstances." Lily shrugged and replied

"Well, that's what he told me. You'd better get to it." Michael nodded excitedly and ran all the way to the secret laboratory which was about to become less secret to him. He knocked on the door again, and this time the Professor answered, then said

"Ah, Michael! Come in, come in!" The door opened fully, allowing him access for the first time. He looked around, seeing whiteboards, large sheets of paper, and a massive piece of machinery. Michael drank his fill, but still wasn't fully satisfied. He looked at the Professor and his assistant, asking

"So, why have I been barred from this room for as long as I can remember, then all of a sudden let in today?" Krane smiled and turned around, grabbing a case of some kind. He set it on a nearby table, then answered

"We wanted to keep this a secret until the time to reveal it was right, and that time has come." He flipped some clasps and opened the case up, then gently took out a strange piece of machinery. It had the look of a strange arm; where the hand was, there was a leather glove, attached to which was a large, circular piece of metal. It was fairly thick, and at the very top an image in the shape of a spinning pokeball that shone brightly. This was connected to a thick wire that ascended to a much smaller piece, which had the same shining pokeball. At a regular rate, a white light traveled down the wire from the smaller portion to the glove, and Michael looked up at the Professor and said

"I give up; what is it?" The Professor smiled kindly and explained

"This, Michael, is a Snag Machine." Michael frowned and asked

"I thought there was only one Snag Machine, and it belonged to Wes." Krane smirked and said

"Ah, you do remember, then." Michael rolled his eyes and said

"Well, duh. You don't forget your heroes, and Wes is mine." The Professor nodded in understanding, then said

"Indeed, his _was_ the only Snag Machine in existence, but he gave it up to us when we asked for it. We felt it couldn't fall into the wrong hands."

"And who's we?"

"Your father and I." Michael froze for a moment, and the Professor sighed sadly and started to explain.

"You see, after the Shadow Incident, your father and I were in this business of finding the correlations and traits of shadow pokemon. Unfortunately, we came too close, and Cipher tracked us down. It was at that point we had this research lab built, so we could continue our studies safely, and because your father feared his curse would bring trouble down on his children, which he didn't want." Michael stiffened at the mention of the curse.

It was a family curse that extended back how far they didn't know, but they knew this much; the Ryuto family at some point had been cursed for one reason or another. Whether it was a pokemon curse or not had yet to be identified, but it was a descended curse. It was passed on from generation to generation via the first-born child, with only one distinctive mark; fiery red hair, such as his. He had the curse, too, he knew it. What his curse was, however, he didn't know. But his father's curse had been to pick fights any and everywhere. He had even caused trouble one day with an old lady who remarked how cute he and Jovi were at the time. His mother had not been happy about it.

As a result of picking fights, no matter where, how, or why, his father had made many enemies, especially out of Cipher, the organization who had pioneered the shadow pokemon, pokemon victims whose hearts were closed off to the world. They could never grow, in power or friendship, and felt only the worst of emotions; hatred, anger, and a desire to kill and maim. They weren't the ones going out and doing the real dirty work, however; they had enlisted another evil team, Team Snagem, to go out and swipe people's innocent pokemon. Cipher would then alter them to shadow pokemon, and hand them back as weapons of mass destruction. One member of Team Snagem, however, had defected and swiped the only portable Snag Machine, designed to be able to swipe any pokemon, owned or not.

However, Wes only intended to use it to take back the shadow pokemon. Problem was, he had no way to recognize which were shadow pokemon and which weren't. That all changed when he found Rui, however, who had the ability to "see" shadow pokemon, which she defined as having a demonic purple aura. They went around, taking down Team Snagem and supposedly destroyed Cipher from the inside. Without any recent activity to report, there were no bases to refute this. Eventually the leaders of Cipher went to prison, but evidently Snagem had gotten away.

Now, in the presence of the "new" Snag Machine, Michael couldn't help but feel curious.

"So, does this mean there are two Snag Machines around?" Krane shook his head and replied

"No, the first one was destroyed. Wes agreed it would be best, but he didn't know we were creating an updated version." Michael eyed the machine and asked

"What's updated about it?" The Professor seemed to swell with pride, and he said

"It's designed to _only_ catch shadow pokemon; it won't let you swipe anybody else's pokemon. Further, unlike the previous model, this runs on a nuclear battery." Michael immediately stepped back, saying

"Wait a second, are you telling me this thing could explode and take out a city?!" The professor shook his head and replied calmly

"No. The battery in encased in a treated lead casing. It would take an extraordinary amount of power to detonate it." Michael calmed down and came back up to the table, then scrutinized it closely. He observed

"It seems pretty small for someone like you, Professor." The Professor frowned momentarily and asked

"What do you mean?" Michael reached over and grabbed it, then held it up to Krane's arm, explaining

"It's way too small for you." The Professor smiled at him and said

"Very good, Michael. But can you think of someone it might fit?" Michael frowned for a bit, then experimentally held it up to his left arm. His eyebrows rose and he said

"It looks like it might fit me." Krane nodded, then asked

"Would you like to try it on?" A wide grin spread across his face and he nodded, and they quickly started. First Michael had to slip his hand into the leather glove, and once that was done, Krane showed him how to adjust it. As it turned out, the smaller portion was to attach to his shoulder. He pressed the shining pokeball on the shoulder portion inward, revealing another surprise. Then he pulled slightly, demonstrating that the wire could be extended. He pressed and held the button for five seconds, and rubber clamps opened out, taking Michael by surprise.

Krane fit the piece right onto his shoulder and pressed again, and the clamps came down until they were snug but not uncomfortable. When they finished, Michael experimented by moving the machine around, finding it was actually very comfortable. After another second, Krane came up to him with a strange headpiece and told him

"Don't forget this. It's the Aura Reader, which allows you to perceive the aura of pokemon to help determine whether or not you're in the presence of shadow pokemon. When you find one, it'll slide out and reveal the aura to you. It also connects to your P*DA." He fit the piece on his head, and Michael pressed the power button. Immediately the screen slid out, taking him by surprise with how close to his eye it was. Then words began to appear and he flailed further. Krane grabbed him and told him

"It's okay, Michael, calm down. It's just the startup screen. It's telling you what it's doing, connecting to the Snag Machine and your P*DA. It'll slide back in a minute." True to his word, once it finished it slid back into its compartment, and Krane smiled down at him, saying

"Looks like the future of Snaggers is at hand. But of course, you can't snag anything without pokeballs." He handed some over, and Michael stuck them to his belt to join Eevee. Then he smirked and said

"Look at me, I'm like Wes!" Krane and his assistant laughed loudly at his proclamation, and Krane said

"Except you'd be far more sociable, I think, than Wes. Wait here, I want your mother to see this." He left, and after five minutes Krane, Lily and Jovi entered the lab, and Lily stared at Michael with the Snag Machine on. He smirked and posed with it, bringing the gloved portion up to his chest, bending his arm. Lily smirked, though she had a small film of tears in her eyes as well, and she said in a choked voice

"You look just like him, Michael. You really do. You're ready to start out on your adventure and everything." Michael just grinned and lowered his arm. Then Krane said

"Alright, then, why don't we go and run a simulated test? Michael, I think you'll be very good at this." Everyone present chuckled and the Professor left. The assistant then turned to him and said

"Oh, we forgot this attachment, actually, but don't worry, it goes right into the Aura Reader." He pulled out a chip and carefully inserted it into a slot, and the screen popped out again and recorded the new mode, called the Shadow Monitor.

"We've recently gotten news that the new cruise ship, the S.S. Libra, vanished. Only the Captain and first mate got out, and they're raving about this giant purple bird that apparently carried it off. We don't wanna take our chances." At that moment, there was a loud scuffling sound, and Professor Krane's shouts reached them.

"Who are you people?! Let me go at once!" Michael and the assistant jolted simultaneously, and Michael bolted out the door. The accountant was standing away from her desk, and she turned, a hand on her chest as she tried to catch her breath, and said

"Oh, Michael, it's horrible! These weird masked men came in and abducted Professor Krane!" Michael paled for a moment, then dashed outside and saw the Professor fighting against a very large, burly man who was dressed in an odd suit, fully white, with a red scarf and even a helmet with a visor. Another man, walking alongside him, was dressed very similarly, but with a yellow scarf instead, and he wasn't as muscled. The yellow-scarfed man turned and looked at him, then appeared to sneer, since his mouth was visible, and said

"Get out of here, kid. This matter don't concern you." Michael scowled and moved forward, his hand reaching down for his Eevee.

"Oh, you wanna turn this into a fight, now? Fine, then, I'll accommodate ya! For future reference, though, my name is Naps!" Michael didn't answer, simply tossing Eevee's pokeball into the air. Eevee came out, growling angrily, his hackles raised. Naps smirked and tossed his own pokeball, releasing a Teddiursa. Immediately, the Aura Reader beeped and the screen slid out in front of his eye again, but this time it started showing him the stats of the pokemon, as well as its being surrounded by an eerie purple aura. Krane, who was turned around to watch this, gasped and said

"Michael, that's a shadow pokemon! You have to snag it! Take one of your pokeballs and stick it in the shoulder piece, then open up your palm and grasp the Snag Ball! Finally, toss it!" Naps looked back at Krane and told him

"Would you just shut your yap, already?! Nobody likes hearing you talk!" Michael was confused but decided now was not the time to argue. He took an empty pokeball from his belt and pressed it up against the shoulder portion of the Snag Machine. To his surprise, it sank in, and a red line ran down the wire connecting the two pieces. The symbol on the back of the gloved portion flashed brightly, and Michael opened his hand up. The pokeball, enlarged now, and slightly darker in appearance, spun around in his hand until it stopped and threatened to fall until Michael took hold of it. Emboldened, he threw it in a high arc, and suddenly a large purple shape, somewhat like a hand, swooped out and passed over the Teddiursa. The ball fell down and bounced a couple times, then began to rock. After three times, it clicked, and the Aura Reader beeped again, then an image of a pokeball appeared on the mini-screen, though purple in color, and moved to the top left, where it settled.

Naps looked at him differently now, and said

"Kid, what's that on your arm? Is that… the Snag Machine?!" Then he cursed and waved at his cohort, who resumed dragging Krane until they reached the back of a large transport vehicle. Michael ran down to try and stop them, but they were faster than he, and soon had taken off faster than he could hope to follow on foot. Michael scowled after them, the most he could do at the moment. Then he turned around and started walk back to the lab, but he paused long enough to kick the fence in his anger.

Back in the invention lab, the assistant and Lily were trying to console a crying Jovi, who couldn't believe her friend, the Professor, had been kidnapped. None of them could believe it. The assistant was in a state of near hysteria, practically shouting

"We were so close to completing it, but now we can't anymore! Professor Krane was too important to this operation!" Michael looked at his mother, who seemed to be thinking hard. It was a look he hadn't seen since that day… the day his father died. After a moment. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, he saw a determination he remembered better in his father than his mother. She turned to the assistant and told him firmly

"Yes, we _can_ finish it." He looked beyond shocked and tried to argue.

"But-but, we don't have all the components yet, we're not as handy with them as he is, and-"

"All that can be taken care of." Without giving him time to do anything more than splutter, Lily turned to Michael and told him

"We're talking about finishing a project called the Purification Chamber. It's designed to be able to purify shadow pokemon as easily as the original purifying relic, which you'll probably learn about later. But we need one last component to get it running, and Professor Krane ordered it from Mr. Makan, who operates in Gateon Port. I need you to go and get the part, and we'll be that much closer to succeeding." Finally Michael couldn't stand the tension, and he demanded

"But what about the Professor?! Aren't we going to save him?!"

"Of course. But we have to multitask, Michael. Cipher is back, I can tell. And we're going to see a massive influx of shadow pokemon." She pointed at his waist, where the Shadow Teddiursa resided at the moment.

"That was the first among dozens of shadow pokemon, Michael, and while I hate to say it, you have to deal with them." Michael blinked in shock, then said incredulously

"Me?!" Lily then started to cry, taking him by surprise, as these weren't happy or proud tears, but sad and fearful ones.

"I said I hated to say it, but we need to face facts; you're the strongest trainer here at the lab, and only one of us can handle it. And besides," She approached him and hugged him tightly, and after a minute she told him

"You're your father's son. I know this is going to be hard on you, especially because you have your own curse. We don't know what it is yet, but there have been curses that were helpful to a point." Michael paused for a moment, then choked out

"But they all killed, Mom. One way or another, whether or not they were helpful at one point, they still killed. I'm scared." Her grip around him tightened, and she whispered

"I know, son. I know. I'm scared, too; I'm scared you'll never come home, or come home so broken you're unrecognizable. But remember what your father said?" Michael didn't even have to consider as he replied in a low voice

"In order to get the things you want, you sometimes have to sacrifice yourself."

"Hopefully it never comes to that. But what do you want, right now?" Michael stepped back a moment to think; what was it he really wanted? At first, he thought it was to go on his journey and possibly become master of the coliseums in Orre. That was a prestigious honor few attained, and fewer still kept. The thought still appealed to him, though not as much as something else; revenge.

Cipher had murdered his father in cold blood, leaving him to die in front of his family. That was inexcusable. And now they had infiltrated their home and kidnapped the Professor, a lifelong friend to their family, destroying their peace of mind, and placing the remainder of his family, for which he was the man now, in danger. That, too, was inexcusable. He looked back up to his mother, a fire in his eyes reminiscent of his father, he stood tall and straight, and he said

"I want to take them down. How do we start?" Lily nodded once, then told him

"We need that part. I want you to go down to Makan's Parts shop and get it for us. Then you can go down your own path. Chances are you'll find more Cipher PEONS." Michael nodded and was about to leave, when Jovi shouted

"Jovi wants to help, too!" Everyone looked back toward her, and while her eyes were red, she was no longer crying. Instead, she stood as straight as Michael had, her own fire burning bright in her eyes. Now Lily appeared apprehensive, and she said

"Jovi, it's bad enough that Michael's going; can't you stay here and help?" Jovi shook her head vehemently and replied

"No, Jovi can't! Big brother doesn't know the way to Gateon Port; Jovi does." Lily stood back up, seemingly torn. She looked at Michael, who caught her eye and nodded once. Jovi walked out with Michael, and the two hopped onto his scooter, immediately taking off while Jovi gave him the directions. After a couple hours' ride, the smell of salty air and water came to their noses, and Jovi said excitedly

"We're almost there, big brother!" Michael smirked, still wearing the Snag Machine because it was rather tedious to remove it, and this part was of the utmost importance. Then the long white walkway entering Gateon became visible. Michael stopped his scooter and he and Jovi got off, then walked up to the sign welcoming them. Jovi suddenly darted forward. She turned and told him

"Big brother, this way!" She hopped down the stairs but wasn't really watching where she was going. Michael raised his voice to warn her, but he was too late. She crashed into the side of a muscle-bound, evil-faced, differently dressed blonde guy. He didn't budge, but Jovi fell flat to her butt.

"Owie! Jovi fell down." She shook her head to clear it, then looked up to see the man's evil face contorted with anger.

"Hey brat, watch where you're going! How dare you try to mess up the good looks of the mighty Zook!" He stomped his foot and growled

"Now I'm mad! You're gonna pay, brat!" Jovi started to tremble, but Michael arrived and shouted

"Hey, meathead! Leave my sister alone!" Jovi scrambled up and darted behind Michael, her usual confident demeanor stripped away to reveal a timid little girl. Michael felt the blood rush to his head, and it was almost as if his father was back. Zook then demanded

"So, you're that brat's big brother, eh? Fine! I'll make you both pay, with my shadow pokemon!" Michael's blood froze, and he thought

"_Wait… did he say shadow pokemon?!" _Zook threw a pokeball into the air, and a Zangoose popped out, Instantly, his Aura Reader slid out from its compartment and analyzed the Zangoose. Its stats started popping up, and a strange, eerie purple glow surrounded the pokemon. Michael started to feel his eyes strain from trying to see two things at once, and he closed the eye not covered by the Aura Reader's screen. He reached back for a pokeball, to snag the shadow pokemon, but was interrupted by a voice.

"Hold it!" the old voice called, and everybody present paused and looked for the source. An old, short man in purple robes and carrying and using a cane walked up, followed by two similar-looking men. They had the same style of dress and wore sunglasses, but one wore red robes and had short red hair, while the other wore blue robes and had long blue hair. The old man stepped up and said, with a smile on his face

"Don't be so reckless! Pokemon are our friends, not slaves to human whims, more than weapons." The blue man stepped up and said

"I'll handle this, Master Verich." He tossed up a pokeball, and not wanting to miss the action, Michael quickly took off the Aura Reader and watched as the blue man's Alakazam knocked out the Shadow Zangoose in one hit. He stared in awe, wishing to gain this kind of power along his own journey. With the battle over, Michael fit the Aura Reader back on his head, and Jovi rushed out from behind him, saying to the old man

"Um… thank you, sir!" The man turned around, with the grin still on his face, and said

"My dear, it is nothing! We only did what we had to, and nothing more." Then he turned back and continued to walk away. Michael and Jovi looked at each other in confusion for a moment, but another voice interrupted them.

"Jovi, is that you?" They turned again to see a small girl about Jovi's age running up to them, and Jovi leapt forward and shouted

"Sarah! It's good to see you again! How long has it been since Jovi and Sarah played together?" Sarah, a small girl dressed in a white and dark green dress, with brunette hair that had one part sticking out of the back, like a backwards horn, said

"Way too long, Jovi. Can you play today?" Jovi looked at Michael with big, blue eyes, pleading with him. Michael sighed and told her

"Just long enough for me to get the part. Then we've gotta go, understand?" She nodded excitedly, and they quickly pointed out the house they'd be going to so he could find Jovi. He nodded and they rushed off, and Michael shook his head again. Then he let his Eevee out, who looked up at him in confusion. Michael smiled down and said

"Hey, Eevee, we don't spend much quality time together, do we?" Eevee considered the question, then shook his head. Michael sighed, then told him

"Well, that's going to change once we set out on our journey. But you know, something's kinda bothering me." Eevee looked up at him in confusion, wondering what was wrong.

"What exactly are we going to evolve you into? I mean, there are so many choices, and it's hard to pick just one!" Eevee nodded his agreement, and Michael soon said

"But I guess we'll just have to worry about that when the time comes, huh, buddy?" Eevee called out happily, and Michael chuckled, then bent down and placed him on his shoulder. Soon, though, Eevee wasn't satisfied there and instead moved to the top of his head instead. He called out happily again, and Michael decided to just let him be.

Not long after, Michael found the parts shop owned by an apparent friend of Krane's, and he walked inside to find a boy not looking much older than him. He approached and asked

"Mr. Makan?" The boy shook his head and replied

"Nah, that's my granddad, and he's not here right now. I'm his grandson, Perr." They shook hands, and Perr asked

"So, what can I do for you?" The fire returned to Michael's eye and he said

"A certain Professor Krane ordered a part a while ago, and I was told it should have arrived by now. I'm here to pick it up." Perr thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers and said

"Right, I know it! And you're in luck; it is here, in our safe. Someone called ahead and told me you'd be coming for it, though she also said you'd have a blue-haired squirt with you. You lose her or something?"

"No, she's in a safe place, or as safe as can be at any rate." Perr rolled his eyes and said as he went to the safe located behind him

"Tell me about it. I mean, you can't really even feel safe in your own home anymore." Michael sighed and nodded, replying

"I know how that feels."

"Well, I won't pry. Anyway, here's your part. Don't drop it; it looks pretty important." Michael nodded and placed the package, very small, actually, into the fanny pack he kept on his person, at his left hip. He nodded to Perr and said

"Thanks." He nodded back and replied

"Don't mention it. Anything else you need?" Michael shook his head and replied

"No, that's all. Thanks again." Perr simply nodded and Michael left the building. He inhaled the salty air, something he'd never really tried before. Moreover, he couldn't exactly place _why, _but_ something _felt wrong. As if there were more than he could see. He looked around but didn't see anything unusual, but still couldn't shake the feeling off. It was bugging him, and he decided to check around with the people and try to find out what it might have been. After speaking to a lady muscle builder, however, he found the problem; there were shadow pokemon here.

The lady's pokemon consisted of a couple normal one, but most notably she had a Shadow Ledyba and Shadow Poochyena. He managed to catch them, but only after several close calls and a depletion of his stash of pokeballs, which wasn't high to begin with, something he needed to change.

After he had gathered the two shadow pokemon, then made sure no others were around, and stashed up on his pokeball supply, he went to the building where Jovi and Sarah were playing, and when Jovi caught sight of him she gasped and asked

"Big brother, what happened to you?!" He looked down at himself, seeing his torn, tattered clothes. Then he told her

"I'll tell you when we get back. But we need to go now." Jovi nodded and explained to her friend that she had to go. Soon they were back on the scooter, and a while after that back at the lab. Inside, Michael took out the last component that was necessary and handed it over, and Lily sighed in relief.

"Good job, both of you. Michael, did anything happen to you while in Gateon?" Michael nodded and explained

"I found a couple more shadow pokemon." Lily nodded; it was something she expected, if not so soon. Then she set the component on the table and brought out a map of the region, which was for the most part barren wasteland. She pointed to an area, however, that appeared particularly verdant, and she told him

"Here, in Agate Village, there are rumors about a stone, called the Relic Stone, which has the ability to purify a shadow pokemon. Until we get the Purification Chamber up and running, you'll have to make do with that." Michael nodded and folded the map, then placed it within the fanny pack. He went to his room and brought out a sturdy pack he originally planned to use on his journey, but would now use for this. He packed several days' worth of supplies, including food, water, and clothing, not to mention camping gear. Once he finished, he shouldered the pack and checked his PC account, which was still running. He bid the group goodbye, then set out. He started up his scooter and mounted it, placing his goggles over his eyes. He glared out in front of him and muttered

"Look out, Cipher. I'm coming for you." Then he sped off down the trail toward Agate Village.

**Okay, that's the first chapter to this prequel! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it! And I hope you'll look forward to the next chapter. See ya next time!**


	2. Ch 2: Agate Village

**So, I hope the first chapter was enjoyable enough; certainly I put a lot of comedy where Jovi was concerned. But now it's time to get serious, more or less. So here we go!**

Michael stood on the walkway to Agate Village, and despite the fact that he was here on pressing matters, he couldn't deny the abundant serenity the retirement village exuded, and the people to match. It was a good feeling, especially considering what he had recently suffered.

**Several Days Previously…**

Michael had released the Shadow Teddiursa from its ball, intending to start off with a greeting. However, the sheer hatred gleaming madly within its eyes had shocked him heavily, and before he could recover, the Teddiursa was covered in a heavy purple-black aura, and it tackled him in the gut. Naturally, he felt the natural pain that comes from such an attack, but there was more to it.

Right as the pokemon made contact with his body, all traces of happiness, hope, anything positive, really, were ripped away. It was replaced instead with despair, anger, and excruciating pain. He fell back and the Teddiursa hopped away, though didn't run, instead snarling hatefully at him. He stared at it askance, unable to comprehend what just happened. It felt unreal, like a dream, but the agony was still there, coupled strangely with numbness.

He was breathing heavily, and the Shadow Teddiursa growled at him before becoming surrounded by the aura again and charging him. He panicked and scrambled to get it back into its ball before the attack landed. He sucked it back in at the last second, when its paw was descending to maim him, and he breathed a sigh of relief. After catching his breath and slowing his heartbeat, he immediately grabbed his PD*A, e-mailing home.

*What the hell is happening?! I let out the Shadow Teddiursa to speak with it, but it attacked me out of nowhere! Further, the attacks did something to me!*

After a span of ten minutes, his mother sent back a set of five memos written by Krane, with the message

*This will explain everything you need to know. I'm so sorry I didn't get it to you sooner.*

Michael calmed down more, feeling the pain from the strange attack finally ebb away. Once he felt more secure, he opened the first of the memos. Several hours later, he finished reading them, and he was nothing short of appalled by Cipher. As it turned out, shadow pokemon were purely attack dogs, which felt nothing but hatred and anger, and a burning desire to maim and kill. Very fortunately, the whole affliction could be reversed, in a process dubbed Purification.

With this, the shadow pokemon would begin to open the door to its heart, which in full-blown shadow pokemon was firmly shut. The Aura Reader also had an indicator that told him where a shadow pokemon's shadow aura was at. Right now Shadow Teddiursa's aura was at its peak, which meant he hadn't made a dent in it. That was no less than expected, but the memo also told him that walking with shadow pokemon, even inside their ball, made them incrementally friendlier. They also attacked anything that moved on sight, so the best remedy was to engage in battle with them. Given what Michael felt with the one attack, he was loathe to subject others to the same pain.

However, he had no other alternative; the memo insisted the pokemon were tougher than humans and could take the attacks. Still, he wasn't so sure. Nevertheless, he stood and mounted his scooter again, heading toward Agate Village.

**Present…**

Now Michael walked around, searching for any willing participants with pokemon. It seemed that, despite this being a retirement village for Orre, many people here, even the seniors, had at least one pokemon on them. Michael battled them all, and by the time he finished, beating them all since the Teddiursa's attacks were super effective on all of them and Eevee was well trained by him, he had gathered up some decent funds on his electronic trainer card and its shadow aura was down by half.. He went around further, now searching specifically for the one he was recommended to see, an old man by the name of Eagun.

After knocking on doors and asking for directions, he made his way to the house that pretty well overlooked the village, then knocked. An old, gray-haired woman answered the door, asking

"Yes, can I help you?"

"I was told Eagun lives here; I need to speak with him." The old woman seemed slightly surprised, then smiled gently and told him

"Yes, he lives here, but you wouldn't know it by seeing it. He's out so often, you see. I'm his wife of fifty years, Beluh. May I ask your name?"

"Michael Ryuto."

"Well, Michael, it's a pleasure to meet you. Like I said before, my husband is often out for one thing or another. But you're welcome to wait here until he returns. He should be back sometime today." Michael was hesitant to intrude, but Beluh insisted and he complied. She had been making tea and set out an extra cup for him, to which he thanked her. They sat, talking idly, until the door was suddenly flung open and a tall, old man with long white hair and wide purple robes stepped in. He spotted the redheaded trainer speaking with his wife, and he said, rather loudly

"Oho, do we have another challenger?" Beluh sighed and set her tea down, then said

"Actually dear, this is Michael Ryuto, and he came to talk to you."

"Oh, is that right? Well, then, Michael, it's a pleasure to meet you! I'm Eagun." Michael nodded and stood, then said

"I hate to bother you in your home-"

"Don't worry about it! So, whattya need?" Michael pulled off the Snag Balls that held the shadow pokemon he snagged thus far, then said

"I've got three shadow pokemon with me right now, and I was told that I needed to come here and speak with you in order to learn how to purify them." Eagun seemed surprised and said

"I thought we saw the last of the shadow pokemon five years ago." Michael shook his head sadly and replied

"They're back. Cipher's making a return run, it seems." Eagun scowled, then turned and told him

"Then you best follow me. I'll show you to the Relic Forest and Relic Stone." He was right out the door then, and Beluh sighed and said

"Oh, that man, he doesn't even give you a chance to breathe." Then she proceeded to give him directions to the tunnel that would lead him where he needed to go. He soon headed out and ran down the way, soon coming up on the tunnel he needed to go down. He saw Eagun waiting for him at the entrance, and when he showed up, Eagun exclaimed

"Michael! You made it!" After a moment of pondering, he said

"Well, behind me is the Relic Passage, which will take you to the Relic Forest, wherein lies the method to Purify a shadow pokemon, the Relic Stone. First, you need to battle four trainers within the Passage. Their goal is to help you purify the shadow pokemon, simply by being available to battle. You might have noticed that the aura on them has been lessening as you bring them out to battle." Michael nodded and Eagun explained

"You see, as you walk around, you gradually build up your friendship with the pokemon, and in shadow pokemon this lessens the aura on their gauge, judging by that Aura Reader you have there. It's much the same when you bring them out to battle, but it's more substantial. What I recommend is using shadow pokemon as often as possible, and if you can afford it, use Scents. Those are specialized massaging oils that you massage onto a pokemon to increase its friendliness toward you. They can be fairly expensive, though, and the more effective they are, the more expensive they become. There are three kinds, but I'll let you find out about them yourself. But first, you need a Cologne Case. You'll find one at the end of Relic Passage, just before the entrance to Relic Forest. But first you have to beat the trainers. Good luck." He then turned and walked inside, and Michael sighed heavily, not certain about the mess he'd been thrust into.

Squaring his shoulders, he took the first steps into Relic Passage, unsure what to expect. What greeted him was the sight of a rather large tunnel dug into the earth, and apparently avoiding very large tree roots, which snaked here and there. There also appeared to be a natural stream running through, with a small wood plank bridge going over it. One the side closest to him, two trainers, young in appearance, stood ready to battle, like guardians of the Forest. He took them on post-haste, beating them fairly easily.

It was here that he had his first taste of something that was both helpful and detrimental; Reverse Mode. It was mentioned in the memos, and Michael learned there were only two ways to bring a pokemon out of Reverse Mode, and that was to use a Scent or call its name. Since he couldn't use a Scent, owing to the fact that he wouldn't be able to use them during a battle (though not having any in the first place was a stronger factor), he resorted to calling it. The Teddiursa reacted well, it seemed; at first, while in Reverse Mode, it had been raging and damaging itself in the process. But when Michael called to it, a large chunk of its shadow aura dropped, and the pokemon seemed far more peaceful. Michael was astounded by these results, and he felt it was to his benefit if they flipped out while he was purifying them.

Passing over the bridge, he checked his pokemon's stats, and to his delight, Teddiursa was very near the point where it would have no shadow aura left in its gauge. But what happened when it was empty, he wondered?

He made short work of the elderly trainers who stood on the other side of the bridge, Teddiursa and Poochyena both having entered Shadow Mode once each, which turned out to be a big help. Upon looking closer, he realized the moves that were unnatural had actual names, and on top of it all, as the process was carried out, it appeared, actual moves he knew existed appeared. Teddiursa had learned, or relearned, Fake Tears and Slash.

He spotted the entrance Eagun spoke about, and next to it was a small square case. Michael picked it up and checked it, finding slots for three things, it appeared. Each was labeled with a specific name, but were all followed by the word "Scent", and Michael knew he'd found the Cologne Case. He put it carefully in his pack, then walked through the entrance to Relic Forest, wondering what he would see.

His eyes were assaulted by sunlight and fresh air, and he raised his left arm, the one with the Snag Machine, and shielded his eyes. Once they adjusted, he looked around and saw a verdant forest, intensely green and beautiful. He cast his eyes in front of him and spotted a cobblestone pathway that led to a stone platform, in the middle of which stood a mossy stone pillar that appeared serene, though he couldn't say why. In front of the pillar stood Eagun, who said

"Good, you made it! That means you have the right heart to accomplish this hard task. But before I say anymore, I want to battle you myself and see what kind of trainer you are." Michael nodded and took one side of the platform with Eagun on the other. He sent out only one pokemon, a Pikachu. Michael threw out Shadow Teddiursa and Poochyena. Eagun started off the battle.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" It built up power, then unleashed a spiky bolt of lightning at Teddiursa. It scowled and shouted angrily, and Michael told it

"Shadow Rush!" It became covered in the aura, then launched itself forward and slammed into the Pikachu. It was super effective, but unfortunately shadow pokemon couldn't grow, so it remained at the same low level he had originally snagged it at. Then he commanded

"Poochyena, Bite!" The dark puppy ran forward, its fangs cloaked in darkness, much like Eevee, and bit down hard on Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Swift!" Small, white stars formed around Pikachu and flew toward both Teddiursa and Poochyena, and when Poochyena jumped to avoid them, they turned right around and struck its back instead. Both pokemon growled in irritation, and Michael's Aura Reader went off again and slid out, showing the maroon aura that now surrounded them both, signifying Reverse Mode. Michael grit his teeth for a second, then called out to them. It worked, but gave Eagun another chance to slip in a Swift.

"Alright, let's end this! Teddiursa, Shadow Rush! Poochyena, Bite!" Poochyena got to Pikachu first and bit down on it, making it flinch and presenting a clear opening for Teddiursa to exploit. Pikachu fell and didn't get back up. Eagun smiled and returned Pikachu, then told Michael

"You're a good trainer, and your heart is in the right place. Now, I will show and explain the Relic Stone to you." Michael returned his pokemon and went over to it. Eagun lay a hand against the mossy pillar and told him

"Legend states that Celebi left this here, to keep this forest a peaceful place where pokemon could live without fear. It also preserves one's best memories, and in shadow pokemon rids them of their horrible memories and replaces them. That completely opens its heart up and restores it to a normal pokemon. It can even work on humans. Here, try it for yourself." Michael stepped forward and lay his right, bare hand to the cool stone, and immediately it began to glow a soft greenish color. Michael pulled back and Eagun told him excitedly

"Oh! You have a pokemon that's ready for the final stage of Purification!" Michael frowned and looked at his party, and the gauges showed him that Teddiursa's gauge was empty and pulsing white. He released it into the open world, and it immediately seemed drawn to the Relic Stone. It placed a paw to it, and the green glow seeped out of the stones and surrounded it in apparently solid green lines, much like a planetary system. Its body pulsed with dark energy, there was a strange noise he couldn't identify, and the power of the dark, shadowy energy seemed to break. Eagun shouted triumphantly and exclaimed

"You did it! You've just Purified Teddiursa! No longer is it a shadow pokemon!" Michael looked down at the Teddiursa, who peered back up at him with wide, curious eyes. After a moment, it smiled at him around its paw, which was in its mouth, and Michael felt much more at ease. He stood back up and asked

"So, I don't have to worry about Teddiursa attacking me with shadow attacks anymore?"

"Nope! It is now a full-fledged pokemon. Congratulations!" Michael smiled at the Teddiursa, who appeared very cuddly at the moment. He resolved to have Jovi look after it. He returned the pokemon, then asked

"Can any of the other shadow pokemon be purified yet?"

"Touch the stone and find out. If it glows, you have one ready; if it doesn't, you don't. It's as simple as that." Michael grunted and touched the stone again, but nothing happened.

"Well, it appears you don't. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to head home for a while. I'm rather tired, and I'm sure Pikachu would appreciate a good rest, too." Then he left, Michael following shortly after because there was nothing left for him to do here. He eventually went back to Eagun and Beluh's house, unsure what he was supposed to do next. Eagun recommended he go to Mt. Battle, the Orre region's premiere battle tower that sat on a volcano. It wasn't necessarily dormant, but it never seemed like it was going to erupt. Nevertheless, there were emergency teleportation tiles in case the worst happened.

With a new goal in mind, Michael immediately set off, taking a few days to get there on his scooter. When he arrived at last, he discerned a very long set of platforms and stairs climbing their way along the mountain-volcano. At the very bottom, and apparently forward a ways, was the entrance to Mt. Battle. The courtyard in front of it was consisted of three walkways with two patches of grass and bushes between them. In his opinion, it looked rather like an overly large spatula.

Moving past this, he climbed the stairs and went inside. He saw a collection of people talking to each other, two men sitting on benches, and both a healing center and small shop. In the middle of the two was what he took to be the reception counter. He walked up and saw two inhabitants; a shapely woman dressed in a blue suit and behind her an Abra. The only evidence of it being still alive was the twitching of its tail. Other than that, it was still as a statue. He then faced the woman, the receptionist, who said

"Welcome to Mt. Battle, where you can train your pokemon to no end! Will you be taking the challenge today?" Michael replied in the affirmative, and she said

"Very well, then. However, I should warn you, the Leader of the first area, Vander, is currently training some recruits. But you can still go through." She stood aside and let him pass. He stood in front of the doors and waited for them to open so he could begin. When they did, he found himself on a thin bridge with no apparent handrails. In front of him was the platform he'd seen climbing up the mountain, and he found only one man on it, a young man at that, and another man, who was dressed in a long button-up garment. It wasn't a shirt or form of sweater/jacket, but it came down to his upper thigh.

Michael walked forward apprehensively on the apparently unsafe bridge, and when he reached the platform, the man in red looked at him momentarily, then clapped the other man on the shoulder, telling him

"Good luck!" Then he left, and Michael wondered who he was, but had a feeling he would see him later, given that he traveled further up the area. Then he turned his attention back to the man in front of him, who appeared apprehensive, and Michael realized he was rather green in the area of battles. Eventually he managed to put forth the challenge, and Michael. Without fail, Michael swept him aside.

The man was disappointed about his loss, but he accepted it like a man, and Michael couldn't help but admire him for it. Then he encouraged him to go further and get stronger. Michael nodded and traveled up the now ascending stairs, reaching the next platform soon after. He briefly wondered how they stayed in the air like they did. He had seen propellers under each one, but he severely doubted it could hold up the large chunks of metal he was battling on.

Then he ignored the question; since he appeared to be safe enough here, he decided to accept it and move on. And move on he did. He swept through the battles presented before him, going through eight more of these individual challenges before seeing one last platform and another building hanging in the air (however that was possible). On the platform stood the man in red he'd seen before, and Michael wondered if this was Vander, the man Eagun had recommended he talk to here. He moved forward and the red-dressed man said

"So, you made it. Allow me to introduce myself properly; my name is Vander, and I'm the Area Leader for this area. I know why you came, and I'll be happy to tell what I know." He then began to tell Michael about a lab facility out in the desert, out of view of casual people, which had been used by Cipher during their start but abandoned temporarily when Wes thwarted them. However, activity had been recently spotted there, and Vander pointed out the area to Michael on his map of the region. Michael thanked him and went to address that. Vander wished him luck and told him to come back and formally challenge Mt. Battle.

After another week, Michael found the Cipher Desert Base, and he immediately noticed how decrepit it looked, aged and not properly taken care of. However, there was no doubt in his mind that this was where the kidnapped Professor Krane was; the very vehicle used to take him was sitting right out in front, fresh as ever compared to the base. Michael powered down his scooter in front of it and scowled at the base, then dismounted and approached slowly.

One of the sets of doors slid open, and a slew of colored Cipher members came running out, each one a different color; red, blue, green, yellow, brown, and purple. Michael looked apprehensively as they lined up, and the red one, apparently the leader of them, commanded

"Count off!" Then they began to count. Michael counted six, but the red one failed to count himself, so the number only reached five.

"What? We're missing one! Try it the other way!" This time the one on the end, a green one, shouted the count off, but failed to count himself as well. Once again, the number only reached five. The red turned to face the claimed Hexagon Brothers, saying

"See?! We're missing someone!" Michael relaxed and rolled his eyes, thinking

"_I've got nothing to worry about; these morons can't even count properly."_ Then the red one turned and said

"Brothers, beware! We have an unexpected visitor!" Their attentions caught, they all faced him. He smirked and walked up, speaking to the red one first, who referred to himself as ReSix. He issued a formal challenge and they set underway. ReSix threw out his first and only two pokemon, and Michael's Aura Reader beeped and slid out, focusing on the Houndour ReSix had. From there, Michael quickly knocked out the non-shadow pokemon, then focused on whittling down the Houndour's health. After it was down in the red for its health gauge, Michael pulled out an empty pokeball, which he had restocked on, and went through the process of making a Snag Ball. He threw it at the Houndour, who was too weak to resist, and was successfully snagged by Michael.

The battle was over and Michael received his prize money for winning, and the Cipher member was beyond shocked. Luckily, his stupidity prevented him from making the connection between Michael, the Snag Machine, and his missing Houndour. Michael only hoped it would be as easy with the others.

By the end of it all, he snagged a Shadow Baltoy from BrowSix, a Shadow Spheal from BluSix, a Shadow Mareep from YelloSix, Shadow Gulpin from PurpSix, and a Shadow Seedot from GreeSix. He considered the options for a moment, then decided to build his team out of purified shadow pokemon, with the exception, of course, of Eevee. He would stay with him. He went inside the building and immediately found a healing machine and PC, which he was enormously grateful for. He healed his pokemon and accessed the PC, rifling through the files that were his. He decided to put Teddiursa in for now, and would give it to Jovi when he next visited home, most likely after liberating Professor Krane.

Since Shadow Poochyena and Ledyba were close to being ready for purification, he decided to hold onto them for a while. He took in the Shadow Houndour, Spheal, and Baltoy. He was trying to balance out the party's strengths and weaknesses, but he still had a couple empty slots. He felt he'd find something else along the way.

Once he had his party of four ready, he left the building and decided to check out the other half. It seemed to be a multitude of computers that were protected somehow, some sort of energy barrier. It would make sense, give what they were dealing with here. Nevertheless, he scoured the place before calling it quits and going back to the main building without consequence.

He walked past the sets of doors, also finding what appeared to be a casino of sorts, or perhaps more properly game room. Ignoring it, he went further in to a main room, which only had an elevator tube much like at home. Perhaps that's where they got the inspiration. Moving past these thoughts, he entered it and went down. He came out to a large room, which split off in three separate directions. Two of them were unable to be accessed by him, so he took the only route he could, but he hadn't gotten very far when he was ambushed by one of the Cipher PEONS, dressed in the white suit with a red scarf. It was difficult to differentiate between the males and females, but he could pretty much figure it out after they battled; the males rolled away from him, while the females kind of broke down and wept. There might have been a difference with the scarves, too, but he couldn't tell for sure.

When he defeated the PEON he moved on, finding two elevators, one which led to a room with only another PEON in it, which he defeated quickly and turned back. He went down the second elevator, coming out in what appeared to be a testing lab. He found a scientist at a computer, which he speedily put down. After the battle, he simply requested to keep working. Leaving him, Michael found another PEON trying to pretend he was an assassin, dropping from the roof. He found a Shadow Spinarak for his troubles, which he decided he'd put on his party. He needed to get them healed anyway.

After winding his way through the base, healing his pokemon and switching them out, it was about night. He didn't feel safe sleeping in an enemy base, but he _needed _his sleep. Therefore, he went outside and hopped on his scooter, driving ten minutes away for safety. Then he pitched a quick tent, ate a quick dinner, then went right to sleep. It had been a busy and stressful day, and there was only more to come tomorrow.

The next day, he bolted down a quick breakfast, broke camp, and rode right back to the base. Luckily, he was a light sleeper and early waker, and nothing had occurred overnight, but the sun was barely up yet. As it turned out, the Hexagon Brothers, the idiotic sextuplets he'd seen before, had pitched tents relating to their colors and spent the night outside. Michael shook his head at their apparent idiocy, then snuck inside. He planned for this to be the day he liberated the Professor from this horrid base.

On and on he went, seemingly endlessly, but he pressed on, never giving up with the goal of returning the Professor back home, where he belonged. For his efforts he managed to snag a Shadow Numel, Shroomish, and Carvanha. He planned to use the Shroomish and even out his party. Once he set out the party, he now had Eevee, which he was still trying to decide how to evolve, Houndour, Spheal, Baltoy, Spinarak, and Shroomish. Once they were all evolved, there would hopefully be no repeat types, and with that in mind, perhaps Eevee should become a Jolteon.

He pressed through the massive base, slowly emptying it of the PEONS, and after a while he found a specific card key, which he had a feeling went to the elevator he still couldn't access. Upon going to it, he learned he was right, and he immediately took it down. After pressing through more PEONS, he finally went up a set of stairs, and in the room he saw the PEON that kidnapped the professor, Naps. He heard Michael's footsteps and turned, spotting him. He appeared surprised.

"You?! How did you find us?" After a moment, he shook his head impatiently and said

"Well, no matter. I can't let you go any further than you already have. Miss Lovrina will have my head!" With that in the air, the official battle began. He first threw out Murkrow and Rhyhorn. Neither were shadow pokemon, so Michael tossed out Spheal and Shroomish. They were still shadow pokemon, so he utilized their shadow attacks, but also used Spheal's Aurora Beam, for super effective damage to both. After a short while, they fainted, and Naps brought out Slakoth and Beldum. Michael switched Spheal out for Houndour, then started raining fire attacks to the Steel Ball pokemon. Slakoth was of very little practical threat, since the most it could do was try to put his pokemon to sleep, but all he had to do was call them and they'd be right awake.

It wasn't long before Michael had beaten him and he was cursing his bad luck, running out. Michael turned to Professor Krane and asked

"Are you okay?" He nodded and replied

"Yes. They wanted me because I'm the leading professor for shadow pokemon, and the leader of this base wanted information on the process of purification." Michael frowned and asked

"Why?"

"I imagine it has something to do with this pokemon they claim is unpurifiable. She probably wanted to know how to purify a shadow pokemon so they can counteract that, thereby keeping this supposed pokemon unpurifiable." Michael frowned, then shook his head, saying

"Well, we can't worry about that right now; I came here to bust you out." Krane smiled and said

"Yep, just like your father; he refused to lie down knowing one of his friends or family was in danger. But right now we're in danger being here. Unfortunately, there's nothing more that can be done here, so we should leave. By the way, this was sitting in the corner, I thought you might like it instead. Certainly you have more use for it at the moment." He handed a stone with a leaf-shaped pattern in it, and Michael recognized it as a Leaf Stone. He pocketed it and led the way down the stairs and elevator. He went toward the elevator that would get them out of there, but he was in for a rude surprise.

It wasn't there at first, but it soon came down, with someone already in it. He had the look of a scientist and stepped out, then demanded

"You! You're the one who snuck the professor out?!" Then he turned around and spoke to someone apparently behind him.

"Miss Lovrina! This child here, he's the intruder!" Then he moved aside, revealing a young, very thin girl, appearing late teens, early adulthood, with ridiculously long, pink hair, nearly touching the floor. She wore the typical white of Cipher, but it was in the form of a one piece shirt that extended into a skirt, with thigh-length boots. She veritably sauntered forward, swinging her hips and somehow irritating Michael. She stopped shortly in front of them and started talking in a simpering voice that also irritated him.

"Wait a minute! I so have not heard about anyone leaving anywhere!" She turned to Michael and told him

"Professor Krane is going to be very busy, oh so very busy! So please, be a nice boy and don't disturb us." Michael felt sheer irritation at this pretentious, uppity bitch telling him what to do. Then Krane told her

"I'm going back home; please stand aside." The pink-haired girl, Lovrina, turned to face him, replying

"You have _got_ to be joking! This is where you work from now on! We need you and your research for XD001- the ultimate shadow pokemon that can never be purified!" Michael felt a shiver of loathing at the prospect, but at the moment he needed to focus on what was tangible, which included thrashing this bratty ditz. Krane responded

"Stop that nonsense! Do honestly believe I would consider helping you do something so horrible?" Now it seemed Lovrina lost her temper, since she stomped her foot and placed her hands on her hips, then started blaming Naps for Krane wanting to leave. As a last resort, it seemed, she turned to Michael and said

"Little boy, maybe you can convince him to stay and research XD001. You see, our plan is to make shadow pokemon that can never ever be purified. XD001 is just a prototype; so when we work out all the little bugs, we can make combat units with XD-series pokemon. Isn't that just peachy? But we need the professor's help. So, would you kindly ask him for us, sweetie?" Michael's hands were tightly balled into fists, and he was _this _close to physically attacking her and trying to rip her empty head off. He spat out

"What are you, stupid?! It was your damned organization that murdered my father! I'll never do _anything_ you bastards say! You hear me?!" Lovrina was understandably affronted, but Michael said what he meant and meant what he said.

"Ohh, you nasty boy! So you won't help with XD001, either?" Michael crossed his arms and glared darkly at her, replying icily

"What was your first clue?" She stomped her foot again and said

"Then I'll just have to thrash you! A little hurt is so persuasive." She unclipped two balls from her waist, and Michael pushed the professor back out of the way, assuming the spot of the opponent. But now it was personal. She first threw out a Luvdisc and Beautifly, and Michael tossed out Spheal and Shroomish.

"Shroomish, use Mega Drain on Luvdisc! Spheal, Aurora Beam on Beautifly!" Before Lovrina's pokemon had the chance to attack, Shroomish sucked a deep breath of air, and glowing green lights were pulled out of Luvdisc, swirling around until Shroomish sucked them in. The attack was too much and knocked the Luvdisc right out, which needless to say pissed off Lovrina further. In its place she sent out a Roselia, and Michael pulled back Shroomish and sent out Houndour, who he had named Mark. She commanded

"Beautifly, use Thief, pretty please!" The butterfly pokemon rushed forward, lashing out with a purple-black light. Michael initially worried it was a shadow attack, though quickly dismissed it; it didn't have the word "Shadow" in front of it. The attack smacked Mark across the face, but since it was a dark move and he was a Dark type, it did next to no damage. He easily shook it off and returned to his post, and Spheal's attack went through. He geared up, a rainbow of colors gathering at his mouth. Then he tilted forward and fired, the colorful display focused in a single line. It struck the Beautifly for super effective damage and took it down in one hit. Lovrina growled at him, then sent out her last pokemon.

The Aura Reader went off and slid in front of his eye, revealing the Delcatty she sent out to be a shadow pokemon. Michael's rage only increased, and he commanded harshly

"Mark, torch that Roselia! Spheal, Aurora Beam!"

"Roselia, Poison Sting! Delcatty, Shadow Rush!" Mark spit out an Ember, which dealt bad damage to the plant pokemon, but didn't knock it out. Spheal shot the Aurora Beam at the Delcatty, knocking it back, but it stepped back up primly. Then it became surrounded by the shadowy aura and slammed into Spheal, dealing it more damage since Michael had purified it. He repeated his moves before and took Roselia down, and Delcatty nearly so. Krane encouraged him to snag it, but Michael's rage prevented him from hearing the professor. Instead he continued to attack it until it was knocked out, and it promptly ran away, amusingly using the elevator to do so. Lovrina was beaten, and she knew it.

"Oh, you nasty, nasty boy! Now I'm going to get oh, so much heat from the boss because of you!" She retreated to the elevator, then left. Krane whirled Michael around, appearing angrier than he'd ever seen him.

"Michael, what were you thinking?! You could have snagged that pokemon, but you decided to ignore that and chase it away instead! What's gotten into you?" Michael thought for a moment, and realized what had happened. His knees grew weak, and he fell against the professor, taking him by surprise. He stuttered

"I-I don't know… what came over me… as soon as she asked me to convince you to join them… I just remembered that day… when they murdered him, right in front of me, Mom, and Jovi… and I lost it. My mind's been… unstable recently. I can't explain it…" Professor Krane's face changed from one of astonishment to questioning, and he asked

"Have you been subjected to shadow attacks as of late?" Michael nodded, a film of tears forming in his eyes, and replied

"Yeah. I purified the rest of the shadow pokemon I found, but they attack me every time on the first meeting. It hurts somewhat, but the real torture is in my mind."

"You're experiencing everything they are. It's no surprise that you feel that, but you should take it easy." Michael shook his head then, saying

"No, I can't. Cipher's still on the loose, and I can't ignore that." Professor Krane shook his head for a moment, then said

"Well, let's talk about this later. For now, let's get out of here." Michael nodded his compliance, and the two left the Cipher base. A few days later, they made it back to the Research Lab, and everyone welcomed them both back with open arms and joyous cries. Krane explained the situation, and Lily explained that they had managed to complete the Purification Chamber, which would Allow Michael to purify shadow pokemon without having to personally worry about it, saving him from shadow attacks. Everyone liked the prospect of this system, especially Michael, but he couldn't help feeling that he would still do it the conventional way, because he knew how they felt, and it was horrible; he couldn't consign them to that torture, so he would use the Purification Chamber _and_ the Relic Stone. But nobody needed to know that.

Then Professor Krane explained the Purification Chamber system to him; he had to place pokemon within four slots and one shadow pokemon in the middle of them, and one of these as a whole was called a Set. There were nine sets in total, and worked best when the pokemon were lined up according to type advantage. He could do that, but shadow pokemon weren't allowed in any slot except the middle one. He set up a Purification Set to the best of his ability, since he didn't have that many purified pokemon that weren't part of his team that also could make a filled Set that created the highest tempo. Michael resolved to purify more of them quickly, including the ones he planned to use.

Once he was finished, he immediately set back out toward Mt. Battle, intending to do most of his work there. Luckily he could challenge and re-challenge the same arenas, which meant he could keep working until they were ready to be purified.

**Well, I'm just gonna stop here; don't wanna overload anybody with shoving the plot forward. I hope I can keep this story going for a while, and trust me, it will get more detailed later.**


	3. Ch 3: Phenac City

**So, we're keeping this going, and I hope you'll enjoy this. I'm trying to keep this consistent, so forgive me if I screw something up.**

_A dark haze covered the landscape, but even with the fog, it was quite obvious that the land was dead, inhospitable. Michael looked down, finding the black ground crumbled easily underneath his feet, with a very unpleasant crunching sound, like that of bones. However, he only guessed at that part, hoping he'd never actually hear that in real life._

_He walked on, brushing his hands over the jagged, sharp-looking trees. One in particular dissolved into ash. Then on he avoided touching anything. Thus far, he'd seen nothing of note. Unfortunately, the land stretched forever with no visible landmarks to break the landscape. It was most simply a barren, bleak view._

"_Where am I, anyway? This doesn't look like Orre anymore…"_

"_**But it is, boy. This is the results of your pathetic failures." **__Michael whirled around, looking for the source of the demonic voice._

"_Who was that? Who are you, and why are you hiding?!" The evil voice chuckled menacingly, the sound booming in his ears and causing him to cover them._

"_**Such pride, and fighting spirit. But it's too late, whelp; you failed, and Cipher won. Now they've created utter ruin, killed everyone you knew and loved, and there's no way to get them back." **__Michael blanched, then shouted_

"_No! I refuse to believe it!" The voice laughed derisively this time, and sneered_

"_**You won't believe it, eh? Then I suppose I have no choice but to show you. Behold, boy, the price of your idiocy, thinking you could handle Cipher on your own." **__Something showed on the horizon, and believing it to be his home, Michael ran to it, not stopping when he tripped and fell, creating a human-shaped indentation in the blackened, crunchy ground. He refused to stop until he knew they were all safe._

_What greeted him was the sight of the Research Lab in shambles, with one wall blown out. The roof had caved in, all the glass was shattered, and the guard who usually stood out front was lying on the ground, his neck bent at an unnatural angle. Michael retched, but luckily he hadn't eaten in a while. Or at least, he thought so. Whatever the case, he needed to puke but couldn't. Resolving himself, he ran inside, then wished he didn't._

_Everyone, from the secretary to the programmers, the young and old alike, were all dead, in various stages of decomposition. Michael's eyes teared up, both from the stench and the horror of it all. He shook his head rapidly, trying to rid himself of the images super-imposed on his mind, but it was no use. The booming voice came back, laughing at him._

"_**Do you see now, whelp?! You failed, completely and utterly! Do you know how disappointed I am in you?" **__Confused that the voice suddenly had a location, Michael turned in horror to see his father, as muscular and red-haired as he remembered, but blood sheeted down his front, his eyes were sunken, and a permanent, evil smiling grimace was plastered on his face._

"_**Why, Michael? I trusted you to take care of your mother and sister when I died, but you can't even protect them from a few PEONS?" **__Michael stepped back in horror, trying to get away from the apparition, but wound up tripping over Professor Krane's body, or at least, he thought so. The body was so heavily burnt, the only indication was his glasses, twisted and warped though they were, still recognizable. The evil version of his father grinned more widely, if that was possible, and he shuffled forward._

"_**Why are you running, Michael? It's me, your dear father." **__Michael was breathing heavily, and he shouted in fear_

"_You can't be my father! My father's dead, murdered by Cipher's hands!" The apparition of his father then chuckled, which turned into a full-throated laugh._

"_**Can't pull the wool over your eyes, can I? Do you take me for an idiot? I know perfectly well that your father's dead." **__Michael's hands clenched into fists, and he demanded_

"_Who the hell are you, and what is this?!" _

"_**I told you before; this is the result of your failures trying to stop Cipher. Now everyone you knew and loved is dead, thanks to you."**_

"_No, not everyone can be dead! I'll beat you until I get answers!" He jumped up, running at him and raising the steel-covered fist of the Snag Machine._

"_**Oho, getting bold, aren't you? Well, you were right." **__Michael swung his fist, but the apparition disappeared, being replaced instead by a blood-soaked Jovi, but it was too late to stop. His fist, which now resembled a lance, speared through her, and the sudden light at seeing her brother faded to that of the ultimate betrayal._

"_Big… brother… why…?" Jovi fell to the ground, dead. Michael flew back, reeling, but he couldn't retract his actions._

"_NOOO! JOVI!" The voice laughed again, then told him_

"_**That's the very future that awaits you, Michael. You will be the one to destroy your friends and family, out of sheer rage, all because Cipher thrashed and trashed you." **__Michael spun to and fro, tears streaming._

"_Show yourself, you bastard! Get the fuck out here and let me murder you!"_

"_**Well, you're no fun. Problem is, you've already murdered me." **__Michael's body trembled as his Eevee stepped into view, missing his head._

"_**Why, Master? I worked for you, loved you, fought for you, and still it wasn't enough? What more can I do, since I even died for you?"**_

Michael shot up, screaming bloody murder. Once he finished, he paused as he took in his surroundings; a desert expanse, with real sand, not blackened and dead ground. He fumbled for a second at his waist, pulling up a pokeball with a shaky hand, releasing his Eevee. He popped out, looking tired and slightly irritated, but that quickly changed to concern when he beheld his weeping master. He jumped up onto his lap, licking at his face to remove the tears. Michael panted for a moment, then asked in a low voice

"What's wrong with me, Eevee? Normal people don't have nightmares like that. It wasn't like the others, either." Eevee looked at him with concern; for the past few weeks, he had been experiencing tremendous nightmares, increasingly tormenting from his accounts. Tonight's was by far the worst of them all, currently. He dreaded the next night, as it would bring fresh horrors, or resurrect old ones and intensify them. He curled into an upright fetal position and began to rock, crying silently.

"I'm going to fail, Eevee, I can feel it." He immediately disagreed with him, and Michael shook his head rapidly.

"No, no, I can't do it… I can't do it, I can't do it… should I just end it while I still have control of my life?" Eevee sat, shocked. Then he tackled his master, knocking him to the ground and jumping on top of his chest. He growled for a moment, then shouted

"Eevee, eev vee vee!" Michael stared in dumb shock for a moment, then remarked lightly

"You're probably telling me not to do it, aren't you?" Eevee nodded firmly, and Michael closed his eyes, more tears leaking out.

"But… what if I can't do it? I'm just one person, a ten-year-old boy at that! What chance do I have against a mass of adults with shadow pokemon to command?" Eevee jumped down and nudged a couple of the pokeballs on Michael's waist, releasing Mark and Martha, his Shroomish. Eevee quickly told them what was happening, and they stared up at him. Then Mark barked at him, making Michael flinch. Eevee head-butted his side, and told him something in their language. After a moment, Mark walked up and nuzzled into Michael's face. Despite being a feared pokemon, he was warm… and actually quite cuddly. Michael tentatively reached up and hugged him, and Martha hopped onto his lap. After a while, Michael smiled and said to them

"Thanks, guys, I needed that. You're right; ending it won't solve anything, because I'll placing the burden on someone else. I can't do that, since I have experience here." He paused for a moment, then ruminated

"Wes has experience, too, come to think of it. Why haven't we seen him? Is he out of the region? Or is he here… and ignoring the situation?" Michael shuddered as the vestiges of his nightmare assaulted him like the bitter cold desert night winds. He shivered another moment, then stood, saying

"I'm not gonna be able to sleep now. We might as well head on and make some more headway." Eevee, Mark, and Martha all looked at each other, concerned, but weren't in a position to argue with him. Michael returned Mark and Martha, then picked Eevee up, saying

"You were really there for me when I needed you, buddy." Eevee smiled widely and licked his cheek, shouting his species' name. Michael smiled wanly and hugged him, but a sudden bright light blindsided him, and he winced as he felt Eevee's weight increase, not to mention his size. Once the light faded, he looked again and saw the creature he was holding was a deep shade of black, with yellow rings on each of his legs, one each on his ears, and a ring on his forehead and tail. His eyes were scarlet gems, and Michael gently set him down, asking in wonder

"Eevee?" The black creature looked himself over for a few moments, then smiled up at him and called up

"Umbreon!" Michael blinked for a moment.

"Umbreon? So that's what you are?" He nodded, then the rings on his body began to pulse and glow, and looking up Michael saw the moon shining down on Umbreon. When the clouds hid the moon again, the rings faded but didn't extinguish entirely. Michael looked at him for a moment, then grinned and remarked

"So, you've evolved. Let's see what we can find on here…" He opened up his shadow monitor, which also recorded information on regular pokemon, and said

"Well, you're an Eeveelution, which was already obvious. Apparently you needed the peak of friendship at night. Well, at least we solved the dilemma about what you'll evolve into." He paused for a moment, thinking. He was trying to keep his party as diverse as possible, but would he really dump his first friend off at the lab, to suffer and not know what he was up to? Further, would he get rid of the only source of comfort he'd had thus far? He shook his head and answered aloud

"No, I'm keeping you with me. We'll be a little uneven where types are concerned, but I couldn't just dump you off." Umbreon smiled and jumped up, caught by Michael. He huffed and remarked

"Boy, you put on weight." Umbreon rolled his eyes and barked at him, and Michael chuckled.

"You need a proper name, though. Let's get going, and I'll think along the way." Umbreon nodded, and they quickly cleaned up the camp, though it wasn't fast enough by Michael's standards. He needed a more efficient way of packing up within less than ten minutes, five preferably. Finally they went to his scooter, and Umbreon jumped onto the backseat. Michael looked at him with concern, asking

"Think you can sit like that? It's not exactly safe, you know." Umbreon rolled his eyes again and patted the front seat, where Michael would be. He chuckled and walked over.

"Alright, alright. Let's just get moving. Krane told me about this guy, Nett, who could decipher this disc that Datan couldn't." He pulled out the scratch-resistant disc from his fanny pack and looked at it. It was a CD of some kind he'd found in Cipher's desert base, but didn't know what was on it. At the same time, though, he'd been busy looking for the professor, so he didn't quite strain his mind to find out. He shrugged and replaced it, then kicked the scooter to life and took off, heading currently to Pyrite Town, where ONBS resided, and where Nett was situated for the time being.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Pyrite Town came into view, a dingy, grubby town that looked heavily rusted, even where it shouldn't have been. Michael hadn't take more than a couple steps, however, when a strangely dressed man approached him, saying

"You, what are you doing? Trying to get in? Well, I serve as this town's protector. My name is Cail, and anyone who wants entrance has to beat me first!" Michael scowled and replied

"I don't have time for jokers like you, I'm busy." Cail jumped in front of him then, plucking two pokeballs from his waist, and challenged

"You too Combusken to take me on?" An irritation vein appeared on Michael's temple, and he said

"Nobody calls me Combusken! Alright, punk, put 'em up!" Cail smirked and tossed up his pokeballs, releasing his Ralts and Snubbull. Michael scowled and tossed up his pokeballs, summoning Mark and Earnest, his Spinarak.

"Alright, let's end this quickly. Earnest, Signal Beam on Ralts! Mark, Bite Snubbull!" Earnest stepped back a couple steps, then raised up on his thin legs. His eyes gleamed red and blue, and twin beams of each color shot out, striking the Ralts for super-effective damage and confusion. Mark rushed forward with dark jaws, clamping down on Snubbull. However, his bite seemed weaker than usual, and Michael looked again at their opponents. After a moment he realized

"_Dammit, we're up against a Snubbull, which has Intimidate! Mark's attack was taken down!" _

"Okay, repeat Earnest! Mark, use Ember instead!" They followed his command, and Ralts went down. Meanwhile, Snubbull used Bite itself on Earnest, though the damage was negligible. Next Cail tossed out his Seedot, and Michael told them

"Focus on the Seedot; Mark, Ember, and Earnest, Signal Beam!" With the double attack on the one pokemon, both being super-effective, it went down easily. Cail shouted

"Oh, come on! That was cheap!" Michael scowled and retorted

"What are you, a trainer or a crybaby? Send out your next pokemon." Cail scowled in return, then tossed out his own Houndour. Michael grunted and returned Earnest, sending out his Spheal, Charlie.

"Mark, Bite Snubbull; Charlie, Body Slam on Houndour!" Mark rushed forward, while Charlie slapped his tail to the ground, jumping and landing on top of the enemy Houndour, which became paralyzed. Snubbull went down, and Michael focused his attention on the last enemy.

"Alright, let's finish this off; Mark, Sand Attack, and Charlie, Water Pulse!" Mark turned around and kicked sand into Cail's Houndour's eyes, blinding him momentarily, and Charlie charged up a large ball of water and fired it, catching the enemy in the center, a bulls-eye. The move exploded and revealed Houndour had fainted. Cail shouted in disbelief, then returned his pokemon and gave up Michael's winnings.

"Well, I won't say I'm not disappointed, but at the same time, I'm glad I found a sparring partner! Battle me again sometime." Michael hesitated for a moment, then simply nodded and went on his way. He was cut off suddenly by a young girl dressed in a long dress with a separate shirt, both pieces being very colorful. She was shortly followed by a man carrying a portable camera, shouting while slightly out of breath

"Marcia, wait up!" Michael watched them for a moment, then shook his head and continued on. It wasn't long, though, before he spotted two more colorful characters; one wore a strange hat, with two bulbs of some sort that were blue-black, with a large white ring on each bulb. What hair poked out was blonde, and he wore red-tinted sunglasses. He donned a dark blue long-sleeve with an orange life vest and tan pants. The other had blue-tinted sunglasses and a wife-beater, wearing his hair in a red-and-orange Mohawk. He also wore jeans and gloves. Talking to them was a man in a police uniform, and he told them

"Trudly, Folly, how many times have I told you to stay out of trouble?!" The one with the Mohawk replied

"Geez, you're such a buzz-kill! Get a grip or something. Besides, we're getting out of here!" They then walked off, and the officer called behind them

"Stay out of trouble, or I'll keep you in much longer next time!" Michael shook his head and kept walking on, finding a circle of trainers who were all eager to do battle. He happily accommodated them, and soon evolved Mark, Earnest, and Martha. All in all, he found this to be a more or less enjoyable place, and certainly good for purifying shadow pokemon once he got more.

He quickly found the ONBS station and entered. He went asking around for Nett, and steadily climbing the building and finding various people. One in particular, however, needed help; a small girl by the name of Kandee. She had wandered off from her mother, and was now lost. Michael offered to help her, and they went around, Michael asking if her mother was one of the female patrons of the station. They finally found her on the third floor, and the two were happily and tearfully reunited. Michael couldn't help but smile at the sight, and he received a Soothe Bell from Kandee's mother, which he knew would help shadow pokemon become friendlier with him, perhaps even reduce the number of attacks he suffered.

After a short while, he finally was directed to the penthouse on the very top of the building. He quickly made his way to the penthouse, where he saw two men, one sitting at a desk, he assumed to be Nett. The other appeared to be a friend-slash-helper of some sort.

"Ahh, you must be Michael! We got a call ahead about a disc too hard to break?" Michael nodded and pulled it out, handing it over. Nett looked at it hard, then said

"Well, it won't be a cakewalk, but I think we can get it done. We've handled similar projects before, so we've got old knowledge working for us. Despite that, it _will_ still take a while, so you should check out something else to pass the time by. I suggest Rock Poke Spot." At Michael's confused expression, Nett hastily explained

"It's a place where pokemon have been visiting more frequently, which is amazing in itself considering that pokemon have been disappearing from the region recently. You should go there yourself and get the full details first-hand." Michael nodded and asked for its location, and once Nett gave it, said

"Alright. You have my number, so let me know when you got it deciphered." Nett nodded, and Michael left the penthouse. He wormed his way back down the station and left the town, heading to Rock Poke Spot.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Upon arriving, he spotted three people; one was a cameraman, the other was a reporter he recognized as Pofty, and the last person was a very burly man, wearing dark clothing and a small hat. Pofty asked several questions pertaining to the Poke Spots, and for some reason the man, who Pofty called Duking, kept calling her Betty. Duking noticed him and said

"You there, young man! Come over here and help me demonstrate how to attract a wild pokemon!" After a moment, Michael shrugged and walked over, and Duking explained

"Alright, so to understand this, a Poke Spot is a place where wild pokemon will gather when the right bait is placed. So here, put these on that plate over there!" He handed over ten pie-shaped slices of pokefood, and after scrutinizing it for a moment, Michael went over and placed it neatly on the stone plate Duking pointed to. Once he finished, Duking told him

"Right, good job! Now you just need a way to know when a pokemon takes the bait, so use this Spot Monitor." He handed over a small program, and Michael found it conveniently fit into his P*DA. He plugged it in and downloaded the program, and Duking proclaimed

"You're ready to go! Now then, there are two other Poke Spots, so if you're really dedicated to the arts of catching wild pokemon, I'll see you there!" He then walked off, thanking "Betty" for her time, which pissed her off.

"My name is Pofty!" However, Duking had already walked off. Michael smirked and shook his head, then checked the Spot Monitor. He saw that the one he was at, Rock Poke Spot, had ten yellow lines, lined up in a row, showing him how much bait was still left. Apparently the plates weren't just for show. He looked at the other one indicated by Duking, Oasis Poke Spot. Figuring he still had time to kill, he went over and hopped back up on his scooter, then drove off for it. It was a surprisingly short distance, and when he arrived he saw Duking already there. He noticed Michael's presence and turned, saying enthusiastically

"So, you came! I'm glad to see someone so young is enthusiastic about catching pokemon!" After a moment, he said

"You know what? I'm a pretty busy man, so could I ask you for a favor?" Michael tilted his head and asked

"What kind of favor?" Duking began to explain

"Well, you see, there are pokemon that show up to these Spots every once in a while, but not very often. Like I said, I'm a busy man, so I don't have all the time in the world to keep an eye on them, even with the Spot Monitor. So, if you find one of three pokemon I'm searching for, would you kindly trade it with me? I promise, I have pokemon you'll never find in Orre without a special trade. So, whattya say?" Michael considered the proposition for a moment; if he agreed, he could not only take the time to do something in case there was a lull, which there sometimes was, and get pokemon he'd never seen before. Smiling, he nodded and replied

"Sure, sounds like a square deal. What are you looking for?" Duking shouted in triumph, then answered

"I'm searching for Trapinch, Surskit, and Wooper. If you find any of them, just visit me in Pyrite Town and we'll make a nice trade." Michael was starting to warm up to the guy and held out his right hand.

"You got it." Duking chuckled and shook hands with him, then began to walk off. Suddenly he remembered something, turning, and told him

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" He walked back over and pointed out a specific point.

"This is the last Poke Spot, Cave Poke Spot. Also, the bait will be available in stores around Orre shortly. So, best of luck to you, boy!" He walked off then, and Michael decided to check out Cave Poke Spot.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

No sooner than Michael arrived did he see the two apparent troublemakers the officer was scolding before, Trudly and Folly, if he remembered correctly. They were speaking in low voices.

"So, how did you say you could tell when the boss was coming?" His companion smirked and replied

"I put a tracker in his hair while he was sleeping, and this thing goes off whenever he's near." Suddenly a pinging noise was heard, and Folly asked

"You mean like that?" Trudly smirked again and replied

"Yeah, that's the one." Then sense seemed to return to him, and he whipped a small device out.

"Wait a second, he's nearby?!" Without warning, a tall, thin man moonwalked into the Poke Spot, and Michael scrutinized him. He wore a purple suit, extravagantly loud where clothing was concerned. He also wore sunglasses, but they were gray. He wore a white glove on his left hand, and that one only. The most striking feature, however, was the massive afro that Michael could swear had enough room to fit Jovi in. He was dancing around in a fashion Michael wasn't too fond of. The man turned his attention to Michael and said

"Hmm! I wondered what that sense of power was. So it was you! Say, little boy, you could be an excellent addition to my little team. Whattya say?" Michael winced inwardly and thought

"_He's kidding right? Why would I want to join a weirdo like him?"_ After a moment, he replied

"Sorry, not interested." The man stopped swaying to whatever music had been playing, and said angrily

"Oh! That's too bad! Now I have no choice but to battle you!" He moonwalked further back, theme music suddenly playing from a convenient boom box that Trudly had. The purple-suited man moonwalked a bit, then jumped and back-flipped, then did some midair splits, and finally came to an end with a snap of his gloved finger. Michael's stomach lurched in annoyance.

"_Damn, this idiot sure likes to show off…" _

"The name's Miror B., honey! Now, let's go!" Michael's face twisted, and after Miror B. threw out two Lombre, Michael paused.

"_Whoa, this could be a problem. Mark, Clayton, and Charlie are weak to these guys. Better play it safe." _He tossed out Earnest, his new Ariados, and Umbreon.

"Okay, let's kick things off. Earnest, Signal Beam, it doesn't matter which one you hit. Umbreon, Bite whoever he hits!"

"Lombres, do a pretty Rain Dance!" Both made simultaneous movements, and shortly after a downpour began, plastering Michael's hair down, much to his annoyance. However, Miror B.'s afro was perfectly fine. Earnest reared back and fired the multicolored beam, striking on of the Lombre. Umbreon followed shortly after with Bite to finish it off. Miror B. sent out another Lombre, and Michael growled lightly.

"Alright, repeat, both of you!" They did so and took down another, at which point Miror B. sent out his last pokemon, a Voltorb. The Aura Reader responded then, and Michael practically cursed. It was a Shadow Voltorb!

"Dammit! Okay guys, try to avoid the Voltorb for now; focus on the last Lombre with another team effort." It was soon down, and Miror B. told the Shadow Voltorb

"Shadow Wave, darling!" The Voltorb, whether by design or situation, appeared distinctly pissed off and always ready to explode. It hovered about momentarily, spinning quickly, then slammed down and fired two balls of wispy shadow that moved slowly.

"Umbreon, Earnest, avoid those!" They nimbly jumped and stepped aside, and Michael was certain of near victory, until the Shadow Raves turned around and struck them in the back before he could warn them.

"Shit, a never-miss move?!" He growled again, more strongly this time, and began to think.

"_We can't evade, but we don't want to knock it out if we can help it. I already learned my lesson there with that Shadow Delcatty… still can't find the damn thing." _Shaking his head, his hair flopping around, he said

"Alright, Umbreon, Earnest, we need to pull back our punches a bit; we can't afford to lose this one. Umbreon, Pursuit; Earnest, Poison Sting!" They followed his command, and Umbreon surprisingly disappeared into the shadows, taking Voltorb by surprise when it least expected to be attacked. It had also been poisoned by the Poison Sting, so Michael took a pokeball and set it up as a Snag Ball, then tossed it up and swiped the Voltorb. Unfortunately, it didn't stick, so Michael prepped another, getting concerned when its health dipped very, very low.

At last he managed to snag it successfully, and he sighed in relief as he summoned the Snag Ball back to him, winning the battle. Miror B. was very irritated at having lost, but didn't dare challenge him again. Instead he chose a tactful retreat, which was really running away. Michael looked and noticed that Trudly had dropped the item he said tracked Miror B. when he was close by. Thinking it might be useful in the future, Michael decided to pocket it.

Coming outside, Michael heard a beeping noise on his P*DA, and when he checked it he found an e-mail from Nett, telling him they had discovered something big on the disc, and needed him to come on the double to Pyrite Town. Michael sighed and said

"It's always one thing or another." He looked at Umbreon's pokeball, thinking he had a decent name for him now. After a moment, he muttered

"Umbra…" He pondered the name for a short time, then nodded and said

"Yeah, that'll do." Then he hopped back onto his scooter and headed straight for Pyrite.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Upon standing in front of the ONBS station, Michael could feel something was wrong; the guard who had stood previously before the doors was gone, and a feeling of unease hung over the building. He entered and immediately saw the guard lying unconscious on the floor next to the receptionist's desk, where the receptionist's Shroomish was. However, the receptionist herself was missing. Michael ran down the hall, but hadn't even rounded the corner before he was attacked by a Cipher PEON dropping from the roof. He jumped back, then listened to the typical rant before the battle ensued.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael stood at the stairs that led to the penthouse, breathing heavily. He had scoured the entire building for Cipher, chasing out whatever PEONS that had the gall to remain. He had snagged a Shadow Makuhita and Duskull in the process, but lost a Shadow Vulpix. He was distinctly displeased, but since there was nothing that could be done about it, he had to accept it was a loss and move on. Luckily there had been a healing machine in the building, saving him the time of going back outside and taking care of it at the hotel nearby.

He narrowed his eyes in the direction of the door the stairs led to. Accepting that he had to go up sometime, he climbed them and found a PEON guard in front of the door to the penthouse. He quickly thrashed him, taking a male Shadow Ralts along the way. When the entrance was clear at last, he stormed inside and found a couple more PEONS holding the receptionist, Nett, and his helper hostage. Michael's hands clenched into fists, the leather of the glove on the Snag Machine audibly rubbing. The apparent leader of the group smirked and said

"Good, more witnesses. Now then, Nett, what will it be? Will you give up the disc in return for your precious receptionist? Or will you allow her to die?" Michael blanched, visions of his father returning, but he pushed them down; now was not the time to lose his grip on reality. Nett was shaky, which was expected, but he of course was going to do the right thing. He reluctantly handed over the disc, though Michael saw a satisfied glint in Nett's eyes. However, the screen at the far side of the room flickered to life, and a PEON was in view. He said

"Exol, we managed to completely wipe ONBS's hard drives and all clean." Nett blanched and shouted

"What?!" Exol laughed and told him

"You didn't think we weren't prepared for the possibility that you might try to make a copy of the information in case you lost the disc? So everything you've done in the line of saving is all lost, for good!" Michael stepped up, saying

"Then we still need that disc. You're going to hand it back over, then leave. Understand?" Exol laughed and demanded

"Who are you to tell me what I'm gonna do?" Michael drew himself up, though his height was unimposing compared to Exol. Nevertheless, he stated strongly and proudly

"I'm Michael Ryuto, the second Snagger! I've beaten you Cipher scum so far, and I plan to continue that trend." Exol laughed again, then told him

"Tell you what, why don't you go home to mommy and forget you were ever here?" Michael gritted his teeth, then reached down and plucked two pokeballs, Mark and Martha, and said

"Why don't you drop the disk and get the hell out before I get mad?" Exol simply laughed and tucked the disc into a pocket, then tossed out his first two pokemon, a Loudred and Girafarig. Michael released his pokemon and shouted

"Mark, Bite Girafarig! Martha, Mach Punch on Loudred!" Martha's move struck first, knocking Loudred to the floor with high damage, though not enough to knock out. Mark ran, a lithe hellhound. Girafarig had enough time to let off a Psychic that struck Martha for super-effective damage. Then Mark bore down on Girafarig and caught it within his Bite, and Michael told him

"Flamethrower, while it's stuck!"

"Loudred, Supersonic on the Houndoom!"

"Martha, intercept that with Mach Punch!" Martha darted in front of Loudred and threw a glowing fist that broke through the Supersonic and struck Loudred on the forehead, knocking it out. Meanwhile, Girafarig was succumbing to the hellhound's flames, and within no time at all was knocked out. Exol growled and returned his two pokemon.

"Seriously kid, what the hell are you?"

"Seriously pissed off! Now hand over that disc!"

"No chance! Go, Mawile and Raichu!" The Aura Reader responded to the Mawile, and Michael said

"Martha, Mach Punch the Mawile! Mark, Flamethrower on Raichu!" They executed their moves with precision, and soon wound up tired, and Michael said

"Alright, you guys take out Raichu! I've got Mawile." They nodded and began to attach the electric rodent, and Michael focused on the Deceiver Pokemon, who was growling from its second mouth. Michael ignored it and threw another Snag Ball, but since he was out of pokeballs, he resorted to the Great Balls he'd found along the way. After the third one, it caught, and Raichu was long defeated by this point. Exol stared at Michael in shock, then demanded

"Just what are you?! Are you even human?!" Michael laughed loudly, then replied

"Fully and completely. It's you Cipher scum who aren't human! How could you be so cruel to living, breathing creatures?"

"Shut up! Pokemon are tools, meant to be wielded how we see fit! A brat like you could never understand." Then he dashed out the door before anybody could stop him, closely followed by his cronies. Michael struck the wall with his fist, saying

"Dammit! I wasn't strong enough to stop him!" Nett came up, assuring him

"That's not true, Michael; you defeated him. Hell, you wiped the floor with him! Because of you, we're all safe and ONBS isn't under attack anymore."

"But I couldn't get the disc back, and all your hardware was cleaned out. We have nothing on them."

"Well, that's not completely true. I can't remember every detail, but I learned this for sure; Cipher was responsible for the S.S. Libra's disappearance. And it seems they're planning to attack Phenac City, if they haven't already! My sister, Marcia, went there to figure out why their communications went down, but we haven't heard from her yet. Cipher may already have made their move." Michael quickly took out his map and rolled it out on the table, asking

"Where's Phenac City?" Nett quickly scanned the map, then pointed to a large pool of water in the middle of the region, explaining

"Phenac's known as the Oasis Town. Head right for the water, and you can't miss it." Michael nodded and rolled the map back up, saying

"I'll get right over there."

"Wait, wait! Shouldn't you rest first? I mean, you just went through this whole building, battling PEONS left and right!" Michael sighed, then answered

"I can't rest because of them. I might as well get what I can done now, then rest when my body's just about given up." Nett looked at him with concern but didn't argue. Michael quickly left the station and the town, then hopped up and winged over toward Phenac.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night, Michael decided he needed to get some rest before storming Phenac City. Before he retired, however, he needed to have a word with his pokemon. He released them all, and standing in front of him were Umbra, his Umbreon; Mark, the Houndoom; Martha, the Breloom; Clayton the Baltoy; Earnest the Ariados, and Charlie the Spheal. They all looked up at him with expectant eyes, and Michael knelt in front of them.

"Listen, guys, I want to thank you for everything you've done, and everything you're doing, for me. It really means a lot that you stick around to help, even though this must be torture for you." Umbra walked up and nuzzled his hand, and Michael smiled softly.

"Yeah, this isn't exactly the adventure I had planned for us. But we just have to tough it out. We're the only ones seasoned enough now to take on these heartless and gutless bastards. So I have to ask you to put up with it some more. I'm sorry." Umbra growled and head-butted him. Michael fell to his back, surprised, and Umbra hopped onto his chest, then sat down.

"Umbra, what's gotten into you? I know it hurts, and I'm really sorry, but I can't do this alone." Umbra shook his head, his ears flapping in the process. Michael was very much confused now, and asked

"So… you don't mind being attacked?" Umbra facepawed, then shouted

"Umbreon, umbre eon Umbreon!" Michael frowned, then asked

"Are you telling me something along the lines of 'you'll never leave my side, no matter what?'?" Umbra sighed in both exasperation and triumph. Michael smirked and grabbed him, hugging him tightly.

"Thanks, buddy. I really owe you one." Umbra scoffed, then jumped down and allowed Michael to get back up. He looked at his contingent and asked

"Do you all feel the same way?" They nodded simultaneously, and Michael smiled sadly.

"Then I guess we keep fighting until we beat them… or die trying." Now they all nodded grimly, and Michael knew their loyalty wouldn't waver. He thanked them and returned all but Umbra, then began to set up his camp. He quickly made a fire, then began to set up his supplies for making dinner. He took the package out and looked at it, his favorite; steak. He checked for the expiration date, just to make sure it was still safe, but spotted the list of ingredients, which listed Miltank. An image of a Miltank popped into his head. No, not an image, a memory.

**Flashback, three years ago…**

Michael walked around the research lab, nearing the forests, and spotted a trail of blood. He stared for a moment, then pulled out Eevee and asked

"Can you track this?" He nodded and began sniffing around, which was helpful since the trail was sometimes lost. But the scent never was. After a time, the duo stumbled across a wounded creature. It looked like a pokemon, but Michael didn't know what. He approached, and it shrunk back. It wasn't a hostile pokemon, then, and he reassured it

"Hey, don't worry, I'm a friend. I wanna help you." She was very reluctant to accept help, since it was a human who had inflicted these wounds. However, the boy in front of her was merely a child, and the Eevee he had with him was clearly at ease with him. There was a chance she could be saved! Reluctantly she made to stand, but fell back down because of her wounds. Michael rushed up to help her, propping her up and doing his best to support her.

Slowly but surely, the three of them made their way back to the research lab, though the Miltank was perilously close to falling several times. But Michael persisted, and eventually they got back to the lab, where Lily was waiting, a bit miffed that her son was outside at this hour. That all vanished when he reappeared with the injured pokemon on his shoulder.

They quickly ushered her inside and started treating her. After a while, her mood became less anxious and more relieved. They gave her a special place in Michael's room, since he volunteered it for her. Soon they were eating dinner, and to commemorate Michael's rescue, Lily made his favorite; steak. After a short while, he felt empty because the Miltank he saved wasn't joining in on the celebration. So, he took a piece of steak and set it on his plate, hopped down from his chair, and grabbed the plate. Lily was on him instantly.

"Michael Jonathan Ryuto, where do you think you're going?" Michael grinned at his mother and told her

"I'm bringing the Miltank some dinner!" Lily paled and quickly tried to stop him.

"Michael, wait-"

"Too slow!" Michael ducked around his mother, laughing, and dashed out of the dining room, descending the elevator before Lily could stop him. Michael ran all the way back to his room and opened the door, flicking the lights. He grinned at the Miltank, who was looking much better, and said

"Hey there, Miltank! I brought you some dinner, since my Mom makes it awesome!" Miltank tilted her head confusedly, wondering what he meant. When he presented the steak to her, however, she reared back in horror. Michael was confused about her behavior, and suddenly she began bawling, then barreled past Michael for the door, running out of the research lab completely. Michael followed, unwisely still carrying the steak.

Miltank busted through the door and ran down the stairs, fleeing to the forest. Michael stood at the top of the stairs, dumbfounded. Lily shortly came out and stood by him, looking where he was. After a moment, Michael looked up and asked

"Mom? Why did she run like that? Your steak is good." Lily sighed sadly, then bent down and took the plate from Michael's hands.

"You'll learn in time, Michael. For now, get back inside and help us with the chores, alright?" Michael blinked, confused at why she wouldn't answer his question. He turned to go back in, but before he disappeared inside the building, he turned his head back to the forest.

"Whatever it is I did… I'm sorry, Miltank."

**Present…**

Michael knelt for a moment, lost in his reverie. When he came back to his senses, he looked down to the package in his hands, then felt a wave of revulsion. He threw the meat away from him, then sat and hugged himself.

"Have I been eating pokemon this entire time? Steak comes from Miltank… no wonder that Miltank was crying… oh god, what have I done?" He began to rock back and forth, and Umbra watched him with concern. Michael looked over to Umbra, then quickly turned away.

"_Would I eat Umbra, if I was hungry enough? Because that's what I'm doing. I'm eating my friends. I'm a freakin' cannibal!" _Umbra walked up, nudging his arm. When Michael didn't respond, he went and retrieved the meat, thinking to bring it back to his master. When he did, however, Michael turned away with a cracked shout.

"No, take it away, take it away! Pokemon are my friends, not my dinner!" Umbra tilted his head, confused. Everything ate something else; that was a fact of life, even if they didn't like it. Why, then, would he deny himself one of the most basic of needs?

"Umbra… I know you won't understand… but I can't go around saying that we need to be friends with pokemon, then _eat_ them. I can't do that anymore. No more, no more… from now on, I'm switching to a vegetarian diet. Berries, other fruits, and vegetables. That's going to be my diet from now on." Umbra was confused, and Michael walked up and took the package of meat. He stared long and hard at it, then bent his head and said softly

"I'm sorry it took me this long to figure out… Miltank…" Umbra was really getting worried now, but he seemed adamant in his choice, sudden as it was. He turned back around and handed it off to Umbra, saying

"This is a personal decision; I won't force you to conform to my choice, because I know you can't live like that. Just take it somewhere else before you open it… okay?" Umbra frowned slightly, then nodded and took the meat. Michael released Mark and said

"Take Mark with you. He should get some as well, and I don't want you guys traveling without me without a buddy in case something happens." They both nodded in compliance, then walked off into the night to have their dinner. Michael went back to his pack and dug through it until he found the small bin of fruits and vegetables.

"Glad Mom makes me eat them now…" He opened up the bin, finding at least a couple days' worth of food for his new choice of lifestyle.

"Well, I can't go back to eating pokemon now, I know too much. I'll just have to get used to this. And resupply when I get to Phenac." He ate, but it was tasteless, bland, to him. He ate half of the provisions, then repacked them for breakfast. Umbra and Mark came back without incident, Michael returned them, and he put out his sleeping bag.

_He was back in the barren landscape, the one with the evil haze and blackened ground. Michael was instantly terrified._

"_This must be another nightmare" he reasoned. The evil voice from before chuckled menacingly._

"_**Poor boy, still so naïve. This is no nightmare; this is reality."**_

"_No, I know this is just a big lie! You're not real, none of this is!" The voice laughed at him again;_

"_**Not real?! Dear boy, I don't think you understand; this is your mind, which is quickly devolving into a deadened state. Believe me, this more 'real' than anything else. And just so you know, I'm very much real as well." **__The fog was being displaced now, looking like it was rising into the air, but only a very small portion of it, like a pillar, but it still roiled like fog would. At last it began to roll off a figure, and Michael prepared himself to fight this evil figure and get out of here once and for all. However, he received the biggest shock of his life when his duplicate stepped out of the pillar of fog. Michael felt his strength sapped from him, and whispered in horror_

"_Who are you?" The evil apparition of himself chuckled and walked toward him, hands clasped behind his back._

"_**Isn't it obvious? I'm you, of course. We all have demons within us, Michael; you know this to be true."**_

"_But no one should be able to see them. Hell, they're not real! It's just a metaphor everyone uses to excuse their actions!" The evil Michael stepped up, then eyed the Snag Machine on his own left arm._

"_**Quite an exquisite piece, isn't it? Now then-" **__He swung and backhanded Michael across the face, forcing his head to the side._

"_**Did that feel fake, Michael? I assure you, I'm very much real, and I can make your life a living nightmare. Of course, I'm already kinda doing that, but my point is that you can't run away; I'm a part of you, I always have been, and I always will be. I'm the collection of thoughts that were locked away, all your impure thoughts, and every negative feeling you've ever had. While you have that, I will live, even thrive!" **__Michael clenched his teeth and demanded_

"_And what's to say I can't get rid of you?" The evil Michael grabbed his shirt and pulled him close, hissing_

"_**Because you are a pathetic human, not a saint! You will **_**always **_**have these emotions, those bad thoughts, and remain imperfect! Shall I enlighten you on some of your worst?" **__Michael paled, and Evil-Michael continued_

"_**Why did Jovi have to be born? She's such a pain in the neck. What I would give for the chance to strangle Dad's murderer. Why couldn't it have been Mom instead?" **__ Michael flew at him and grabbed him, tears streaming, and shouted_

"_Shut up! I've never thought that!" Evil-Michael grinned and added_

"_**Why don't I just release all my pokemon and kill myself? I could finally see Dad and get away from this torment." **__Michael geared up to strike this bastard, but his punch went right through him. The evil apparition chuckled and blasted him back, then walked up and planted his foot on the real Michael's chest._

"_**Forget it, kid; you're twenty years too early if you think you even have a sliver of a chance of defeating me. I look forward to tormenting you further. Nighty-night!" **__He lifted his foot and brought it down on Michael's chest, and he could hear the crunching of his ribs-_

Michael shot up with a strangled shout, feral in tone. He panted heavily, then looked around. Sand. Nothing but sand around him, and his small fire pit which had long burned out. He began to breathe more easily, but his heart was still pounding away. He lay a hand against his chest; his ribs were still intact, and his heart was beating hard and strong. Gradually he calmed down, then fell back and asked

"What's wrong with me? Normal people shouldn't feel like this. How am I different?" He ruminated on that for a bit, then reminded himself he was on a mission. He quickly ate and packed up his camp, then hopped back onto his scooter, taking off for Phenac.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Phenac City came into view, a beautiful blue gem on the barren beige landscape. He kicked the kickstand up on his scooter and entered the gates, but a woman dressed in pink quickly intercepted him, saying cheerfully

"Congratulations, you're the one millionth visitor to Phenac City! As a token, please take this!" She handed him a large case that had many slots within it, and she told him

"That's a Disc Case! It holds Battle CDs, which can be used at Realgam Tower, just over on the horizon." She pointed to a series of four towers that were just visible, the middle-most one taller than the other three.

"You should go over and check them out, now!" She veritably shoved him out of the gates and stood as a sentinel would, making sure he didn't come back in. Michael stared at her suspiciously, but he relented and hopped back onto his scooter, then took off for Realgam Tower, going over what he knew about it.

It was a coliseum that the original Cipher and Team Snagem had built when Snagem was still big and Cipher was taking its baby steps. It was designed so that trainers would most likely lose their pokemon, which would no doubt be turned into shadow pokemon. However, Wes infiltrated it and defeated the bosses of the-then Cipher, then defeated the bosses, one of whom turned out to be the mayor of Phenac City. Michael smiled at the thought that his hero had been the one to thwart them. Of course, that's _why _he was Michael's hero. Nevertheless, he had always entertained the fantasy of being like him, and now that he was, he found the position to be less than desirable.

Wes had been notorious for his careless attitude, as if everybody was beneath his notice. Was there a reason for it? Was that his coping mechanism? By not caring for anyone, he was free to do what he needed to without reservation?

But Michael couldn't do that. Even if he could pull it off, which he didn't believe he could, everyone back home would be confused and hurt, and he didn't want to do that to them. He shook his head of these dark thoughts, since Realgam Tower was now within sight, and he pulled up to it. If there was one thing and one thing only he could compliment on, it would have to be its sheer size. It could be seen from Phenac, which should have been enough of an indicator. However, it was so much bigger in person, and Michael had to admit that coming here could be worth his time; he would be able to expand his knowledge on battle strategies, not to mention train here. However, when he stepped inside, he immediately spotted Trudly and Folly, mumbling in discontent.

"Man, she said we were the millionth visitors to Phenac and gave us these Disc Cases, but they barely have anything in them! They're worthless!" Michael blinked, realizing he'd been tricked. He stomped back to his scooter and revved it, then sped off back to Phenac City.

"_Prepare yourself, Cipher, because when I get there, I'll make you wish you stayed disbanded."_

**Ooh, what is he gonna do?! Lol. So, I hope you enjoyed this installment, and will look forward to the next one. Peace!**


	4. Ch 4: Losing The Snag Machine

**Well, I apologize for the massive delay, but I was moving (still not totally settled down just yet) but I'm not giving up on this work. When last we left off, Michael was just chased out of Phenac City, only to learn that what got him out was merely a gimmick. Now he's going back to exact some vicious justice. How will this turn out?**

Phenac City came into view at last, and Michael's grip tightened on the handlebars of his scooter.

"_I can't believe I was so easily tricked like that! Dammit, when I get my hands on them, Cipher will wish they'd never set foot in Orre!" _When the entrance came into sight, Michael eased up on the engine, intending to keep the element of surprise if possible. He parked close to the outer wall, then began to sneak up the side, peering inside.

The city appeared to be running normally, with nothing out of place. There was the pink-dressed lady who had shoved him out, an old man, even an athlete running around the city's fountain, with his pokemon, a Duskull, following him. Nevertheless, something seemed off. He needed to infiltrate the city, find the Mayor's house, and warn him about the impending, or perhaps current, attack. Taking his chances, he stepped up, the lady at front spotting him. She seemed displeased and remarked

"You don't give up easily, do you?" Michael scowled, replying

"Not when there's suspicious circumstances, I don't. Now, who are you?" The lady smirked, then grasped the front of her dress. With one motion, she ripped off the dress, and revealed a Cipher PEON in disguise. Michael's scowl deepened, and he plucked two pokeballs from his waist, laying waste to the PEON. Once he finished that, he began walking around, asking for directions to the Mayor's house. Unfortunately, most everyone was affiliated with Cipher or so absolutely confused as to the changes in Phenac City to answer his question.

After several hours, close to nightfall, he managed to find one lady, standing in front of a house, who wasn't so baffled that she could answer his question legibly, informing him that the very house she stood in front of belonged to the Mayor, but hadn't been seen for a while, now that she thought of it. Michael paled at the news and rushed inside, finding a shapely secretary standing around, looking bored.

"Oh? A guest? What can I do for you?" Michael calmed down, answering

"I need to see the Mayor. I have a piece of information he needs to hear, since it involves his city and its citizens." The secretary arched an eyebrow, responding

"Is that so? Well, I'm sorry, but the Mayor's not in right now." Michael frowned, seeing stairs behind her. He walked over to them, asking

"Is he up here?"

"Don't go there!" Michael flinched when she shouted, and turned to see her face looking distinctly miffed. After a moment, she stood straighter, tucked her hair in, smiled sweetly, and said

"Sorry, but that's the Mayor's room. Nobody is allowed up there." Michael frowned, debating. He could understand respecting somebody's private quarters, to an extent, but to the degree of shouting so loudly it could be heard all the way to Gateon Port? Something was definitely up, but unless he could find a way to distract her for a few minutes at least, he couldn't check for himself. At that moment the secretary remarked

"Oh, I'm so bored just sitting here. I wish I had some good music." Michael simply grunted and excused himself, leaving the Mayor's house, feeling far less than fulfilled. He walked around again, wondering where he was supposed to go now, until he heard urgent whispering.

"Hey! What are you walking around for?!" Michael jumped and looked around, trying to locate the source.

"Over here!" He finally looked over to a house, the door of which was open far enough to allow a man to poke his head out, the one speaking to him, he realized.

"Yes, you! Get in here, now!" Michael blinked, but felt more inclined to listen. He quickly walked into the house, the man shut and locked the door, then rounded on him.

"What are you thinking, kid?! Don't you know it's dangerous right now?" Michael scowled and replied tersely

"I'm completely aware of the fact; that's why I'm here. I came to warn the Mayor about an impending attack from Cipher onto this city, but it looks like I came too late." The man sighed, responding

"Well, you sure are brave to take them on like that. Stupid, but brave." Now Michael grinned, joking

"I must get it from my father. Anyway, how did you know about the danger?" Now the man sighed, running a hand through his hair, and explained

"My wife's been gone for a few days; she never does that. So I knew something had to be done, but I'm not a trainer myself, so I planned to call the police or something. But all the lines have been disconnected. I figured at some point someone would figure out something weird was going on, so they'd send somebody." Michael smirked and held out his arms.

"Well, here I am." The man faceplanted, and when he jumped back up he shouted

"A kid?! They sent a kid to beat an evil syndicate?!" Michael scowled and retorted

"Hey, I'm more than I look like, okay? Besides, I'm already in this pretty deeply, so I might as well see it through." The man frowned, obviously not totally convinced, and asked

"So what kind of pokemon are you using?" Michael figured it was best to show rather than explain, so he released his entire team, consistent now of Umbra, Earnest, Mark, Martha, Clayton, and Charlie, or his Umbreon, Ariados, Houndoom, Breloom, Baltoy, and Sealeo. The man seemed surprised, whether it be the power his team exuded, their diversity, or perhaps just the fact that a young boy such as himself had so many pokemon already.

"Well, I guess you're prepared, then. But those pokemon of yours look pretty tired." Michael nodded, and the man further remarked

"Don't take offense from this, but your pokemon look tired; you look practically dead on your feet." Michael chuckled wanly, replying

"Well, it's been a busy day, and I… sorta had a nightmare that woke me up pretty early this morning." The man nodded his understanding, pointing to a bedroom.

"Then go ahead and take a rest; you'll need it if you insist on taking on Cipher by yourself." Michael hesitated, asking

"Isn't that your bedroom? I couldn't ask you to do that." The man hesitated, then answered

"It is, but I can't stand sleeping in that bed alone. I haven't used it since my wife disappeared, so if that's your worry…" Michael shook his head, replying

"No, I just feel like an impose, taking your bed from you." The man waved his hand, replying

"Don't worry about it. If you are who you say you are, then you'll make it up by ridding this city of those blasphemous villains." Michael nodded, understanding.

"Alright, thank you. My team and I will get some much needed rest, and we'll leave first thing in the morning. I promise we'll do everything in our power to save Phenac City." The man finally smiled, and nodded.

"Good. Then you best get as much rest as you can; you've got a lot of work ahead of you." Michael nodded in reply and walked toward the bedroom, finding a large bed that looked comfortable. He pulled his pokemon back out, explaining

"Alright, guys, we've done a lot of work today, so we're going to get some rest now, okay? Tomorrow we'll set back out and finish this once and for all. Are you with me?" They all nodded, fierce looks behind their eyes. Michael smiled at them, a gesture that was becoming less and less frequent, harder to come by. Nevertheless, he did, and he held up their pokeballs.

"Then get a good night's sleep, gang; tomorrow we kick some real ass." He returned them and set the pokeballs gently on the bedside table, clambering into the sheets, finding his body was so close to giving out.

_Michael beheld a dark island, with rivers of lava running languorously by. Despite the molten rivers and clouds of poisonous ash, he knew that was only a small portion of the true danger. How, he didn't know, but he could feel it. He heard a loud screech, like a pained bird's cry, and he whipped his head around, searching for the threatening noise. Only when he looked up, however, did he spot it._

_It was a dark purple bird, with multiples of white flaps on its back on either side of its spine. Its arms made up its wings, with large hands on the end. Its legs were thick-set, made for supporting its weight, and ended with a long, tapering tail that had more of the flaps on the end. Its neck was about half as long as its tail, and its head curved with the neck. Around its eyes were sharp, angular appendages, a deeper shade of purple than the rest of its body, not quite black, but almost there. Its belly was stark white, contrasting horribly with the rest of its body._

_Michael stepped back involuntarily, catching the bird's attention without meaning to. It screeched at him, then flapped its wings, hard. It sent twin tornadoes of dark power toward him, electricity crackling over them. Michael shouted in fear and turned tail, beginning to run for all he was worth. But it wasn't enough, it never was. He was caught up in the gale of darkness and tossed around like a rag doll, spinning horribly, but unable to do anything about it. He was ejected out of the top like a waterspout, and the bird was there, waiting to eat him, its mouth wide open-_

"Hey, wake up!" Michael shot up, his forehead colliding with his host's. Both of them clutched their foreheads, the man uttering a muttered stream of curses, while Michael curled up on himself, trying to rid his mind of the horrific images. Once the man recovered, he looked at Michael with concern, asking

"You okay, kid? You were screaming bloody murder in your sleep." Michael breathed heavily, then replied

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"You sure? I've never heard anybody who screamed like you did. Must have been some kind of nightmare to do that." Michael trembled lightly, then answered

"I'm getting used to it. What time is it?" The man looked at a clock, relaying

"Almost eight o'clock. I only got up myself when you were screaming particularly loud." Michael looked down in shame and embarrassment, then got out of the bed, clipping his pokeballs to his belt. His eye was caught by something glinting, and when he looked to inspect it found a small music disc. He held it up for inspection, seeing the words "Scarlet Rhumba" on it. He frowned in confusion, asking the man

"What is this?" He looked for a moment, then scoffed and replied

"That was a disc my wife brought back a couple months ago. But neither of us like it; it's secretary music." Michael's head perked up at that, and he asked

"If you don't want it, can I have it?" The man blinked, obviously taken aback. After a moment, he shrugged and told him

"Go ahead, if that junk interests you." Michael nodded and thanked him, walking back outside. Luckily none of the PEONS he'd thrashed earlier had been replaced, which was finally some good luck. He looked around for a moment, then angled toward the Mayor's house. He went inside, seeing the secretary again, who greeted

"Hello, you're the boy from yesterday, right?" Michael nodded, and she continued

"Well, the Mayor's still not back, but I'm still bored." Michael smirked, replying in a winning voice

"Actually, I came by to see you." She arched an eyebrow, asking

"Oh? Well, I'm flattered, but you're much too young for me." Michael blushed, inches away from thrashing her as well and simply taking care of the problem, but he abstained.

"Well, I didn't mean it like that. You said you were bored and wanting music, right?" She nodded.

"Well, I found something you might like." He handed over the disc, she read it, and her face lit up.

"Scarlet Rhumba! I love this song!" She proceeded to play it in the nearby disc player, completely ignoring Michael as she swayed to the music, which Michael found to be quite irritating. He shook his head, then snuck up the stairs. The music was muffled, but he could still hear it, and knew he had to work quickly. However, the room looked pretty well turned over; the bed was clearly not in place, and obviously hastily made. The closet was wide open, but no clothes sat inside. In fact, the only visible article of clothing was a robe on the bed, and everything visible was coated with dust. But something white and square caught his attention. He veritably dove for it, finding a dusty, apparently incomplete note.

"_Justy-_

_It has come to my attention that Cipher is planning something nefarious indeed, and your skills will be needed to help beat them back. I could only learn so much, but the main part of their plan is to take the place of prominent members of the city. This, as you can imagine, needs to be stopped before –"_

Michael clicked his tongue, seeing that the Mayor _had_ learned about Cipher ahead of time, but couldn't warn anybody before their attack. He folded the note and tucked it into his pocket, suddenly becoming aware that the music had stopped and footsteps were climbing the stairs. The secretary's head poked up seconds later, and she scolded

"You nasty little boy! After I told you not to come up here, you defied my orders anyway, and while I was distracted no less!" Michael scowled and retorted

"You were easy to fool once I found out how. I'm onto you now, Cipher, so give yourself up!" The "secretary" scowled, then ripped off her disguise, revealing what he knew now was a PEON all along.

"You're an annoying twerp, you know that?" Michael smirked and replied

"I've been getting that a lot, recently. Doesn't matter, none of you stands a chance against me." The PEON scowled and challenged him unwisely, but Michael easily thrashed her, taking her Shadow Snorunt in the process, making her retreat fearfully. Michael veritably ran down the stairs, thinking

"_I gotta find this Justy guy and tell him what happened before it's too late!" _He found another PEON, challenging him, and spotted his Shadow Pineco. However, Michael wasn't able to snag it, so it ran away, but he defeated the PEON.No sooner than he got outside, however, he saw the Pre Gym's doors open, and six exact duplicates of the same guy walked out, Michael's jaw dropping. He watched incredulously as one of them declared

"Sound off!" Something clicked in his mind, and he remembered the Hexagon Brothers. This time, however, they managed to count it off right.

"Now, remember the plan! We are all Justy, so anybody who comes by, remember who you are!" Michael watched for a moment, then facepalmed.

"You guys are all such idiots, I swear." One of the fake Justys then walked up, asking

"You need help, little boy? After all, I'm Justy!" Michael groaned, then replied

"I don't need help, you do!" He reached forward, grasped the disguise, and ripped it off, revealing GreeSix. He jumped back, surprised, and said

"You saw right through my disguise! How did you find out so quickly?" Michael facepalmed again and shouted

"There isn't six of the same guy, dipshit!" GreeSix smirked, replying

"Doesn't matter, you're too late to stop us now." Michael beat him, finding he dropped a music disc, shrugged, and took it.

"If I'm gonna be beating them, I might as well take whatever rewards I can get." He walked around, finding ReSix just outside of the house he had stayed the night in, BluSix near the entrance to the city. He picked up discs from them, too, and continued on his way. He only spotted one more, though, standing in front of the Pre Gym, perhaps standing guard. Michael defeated him, too, then entered the gym himself.

He could see a battle stage, large enough to accommodate Orre's main style of battle, Double Battle, a small control panel with no one at it, and another section, that looked somewhat like a classroom, with a teacher in front of a couple students that looked nothing short of confused. Michael stepped up, reading the lessons on the board.

One- Pokemon are tools.

Two- Humans are meant to rule.

Three- Humans rule by using pokemon how they're supposed to be.

Seeing this made Michael's blood boil, and he shouted

"Bullshit!" Everyone present looked at him, and the teacher asked in a falsely sweet voice

"Excuse me, young man? What did you say?" Michael thrust a finger forward, accusing

"Your lessons are nothing but lies! Pokemon are _not _tools, humans will not assume absolution over everything, and there is no way decent pokemon would help you!" The teacher's gaze became heavier and darker, but she still spoke in the falsely sweet tone.

"Little boy, I don't think you understand; this is all true. It's one reason why we're at the top of the food chain. Surely you know this." Michael smirked evilly, proclaiming

"I'm a vegetarian, bitch!" She sighed and removed her glasses, then said in a threatening tone

"Then I suppose I'll have to show you your place." She threw off her disguise, revealing another PEON, much to the student's surprise. She jumped impressively, landing on the battle stage, then pointed at Michael.

"Come down here and accept your punishment for your belligerence!" Michael scowled and walked down, replying

"You're the only one who's getting punished today." He paused, then revised

"Let me say that differently; you and your entire organization are the only ones who will pay. Now, get ready to lose!" She had three pokemon total, including a Shadow Natu, which he snagged. Then the large pokeball at the side of the stage rose up, revealing it to be an elevator. Another PEON stepped out, telling him that he was going to pay for all the damage he'd done to their plans. This PEON had a Shadow Roselia on him, and though Michael tried, he couldn't snag it, much to his frustration. Nevertheless, he beat him and so claimed victory.

The last PEON stepped out of the elevator then, promising an enticing secret if he could be beaten. Well, who could have resisted an offer like that? Michael thrashed him into the dirt, snagging a Shadow Meowth in the process. The PEON was obviously displeased, but not a complete and total liar.

"Everyone in the city has been imprisoned in the underground training facility found under this Pre Gym. But the elevator might be stuck thanks to yours truly, so none of them are getting out, and you're not getting in." Michael growled, but the PEON already bolted. Michael ran over to the elevator, seeing it partially out. He grabbed it as best as he could, but his grip wasn't enough to get any leverage. He huffed and looked around, spotting the control panel. Running up to it, he saw there was a key slot for the elevator, but the key was missing.

"Why can't this be easier?" Michael sighed heavily, then walked back outside. A small boy told him excitedly but by no mean positively

"I saw another Justy walking up to the coliseum!" Michael looked over his shoulder, just in time to spot the no-doubt Justy imposter slip inside. Michael's scowl deepened, and he immediately set off for the Pokemon Center, finding absolutely no one inside. He growled angrily, but knew he couldn't get his pokemon healed here.

"Dammit. Where do I go now?" He thought further, then remembered the man who let him sleep at his house. He doubted he would be so willing again, but he needed his pokemon in top shape. He quickly walked back and knocked on the door, and when the man answered, he appeared wary about him.

"Hey, it's you again." Michael nodded, replying

"Listen, I'm sorry to bother you, but I need my pokemon in top shape. I've just about got this figured out, but they're pretty worn." The man sighed

"I understand, but you really scared me with all your screaming, you know?" Michael thought

"_I can give you a good reason to be afraid." _However, he verbally stated

"All I need is one more night. This plan is more extensive than I imagined, but I can resolve all of this by tomorrow, I swear. The man sighed, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. After another moment, he stepped aside.

"Well then, you get the rest you need. Just make sure you keep your promise." Michael nodded, thanking the man for his generosity.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next day, bright and early, Michael headed toward the Phenac Coliseum. He spotted two more PEONS, pissing him off further. He stepped forward, challenging them both, who were only too eager to try and beat the annoying brat ruining everything for them. Michael took a Shadow Grimer from one of them, and knocked out the Shadow Spearow the other had. He was getting tired of knocking out shadow pokemon, but he had to press on regardless.

He chose the right entrance, as it was his preferred side, but in reality either one would have worked. At any rate, after he entered, he saw the girl and camera man from Pyrite Town, Marcia was the girl, if he remembered correctly. Standing in front of them had to be the ugliest man Michael had ever seen; he had thin, gangly limbs but a paunchy belly, pale, doughy face, and jaggedly styled hair. He wore a white and blue-striped jumpsuit, a massive mistake, and a large cape that also served as a jacket.

"I demand that you give up that footage you took, or it will ruin my chances of becoming Orre's new governor!" The girl and camera man assumed defensive postures, replying

"Never! This footage is exactly what we need to uncover your grand scheme!" Michael stepped forward to help, at which point the pale, paunchy, all around butt-ugly man noticed him.

"You! You're the brat that's been ruining us left and right!" Michael smirked and replied

"That's me." The man raised his voice, commanding

"Egrog, seize him!" It was just another Cipher PEON, though admittedly slightly stronger than the average PEON thus far. He also had a Shadow Seel, which Michael managed to snag, much to his relief and gratification. The apparent leader was obviously angry, and he shouted

"I've had it with you! You will see once and for all that I am not one to be mess with!" He stepped forward, grabbing two pokeballs and tossing them up, revealing a Lanturn and Quagsire. Michael scowled for a moment, then tossed out Martha and Umbra, intending to keep on the advantage as long as he could. The man proclaimed

"My name is Snattle! I am the second Admin of Cipher, and the future governor of Orre!" Michael scoffed and replied

"In your dreams. Martha, Giga Drain on Lanturn! Umbra, Bite Quagsire!"

"Lanturn, Protect! Quagsire, Earthquake!" Michael paled and watched as the green shield erected over the electric fish, protecting it for the turn. The Quagsire, looking stupidly happy, jumped and created a resounding shockwave that nearly threw Michael off balance, slamming into Umbra and Martha, though it wasn't as damaging on the Breloom, and Lanturn avoided damage altogether. Umbra bit down on the Quagsire, but it wasn't enough to take it down. Michael growled, then commanded

"Martha, focus Giga Drain on Quagsire! Umbra, Bite Lanturn!"

"Both of you, repeat your moves!" Lanturn once again protected itself from damage, Umbra bouncing somewhat painfully off the barrier. Quagsire once again slammed both of Michael's pokemon with the Ground type move, and while Martha was able to hang on pretty well, Umbra was beginning to look worse for wear. Martha focused on the Mud Fish pokemon and sucked in deeply, a green glow surrounding her and her target. Quagsire was pushed back by some unseen force, orbs of green light erupting from its body and knocking it out. Martha took in the health, restoring herself. Meanwhile, Michael was applying a potion to Umbra, healing him. Snattle told him

"You're clearly more skilled than I gave you credit for, but it all ends here!" He tossed another ball, revealing a crescent-shaped pokemon with a beak-like mouth and deep red eyes, moving in a circular motion, back and forth. The Aura Reader responded, sliding in front of his eye and labeling it as a shadow pokemon. Michael cursed, then stood up, Umbra going back onto the battlefield.

"Watch out, guys, that's a Shadow Lunatone! Who knows what it's capable of?" They nodded their understanding, and Michael told them

"Focus on the Lanturn for now, with Giga Drain again and Pursuit!" Snattle bypassed the typical Protect strategy, instead commanding

"Lanturn, Thunderbolt that Umbreon, and Lunatone, use Shadow Sky!" Michael blinked, never having heard that move before. Lunatone's attack came first; it stopped circling around, spun forward as if on an axis, focusing a dark ball between the two points of its crescent-shaped body, and then threw it up into the sky. Immediately the air above them grew dark, like a rain- or hailstorm, but instead of rain or hail, small balls of dark energy fell, which Michael took to be shadow energy. Several struck him, and when the painful feelings and images flashed across his mind, he knew for certain that it was.

Lanturn's attack then fired, striking Umbra while he charged forward. He lessened the damage with his own move, which surrounded him with three points of dark purple light as he charged forward, striking Lanturn and knocking it askew. At that point Martha finished it off with Giga Drain, and everyone on Michael's team suffered the turn that the shadow energy fell from the sky. Michael growled and watched as Snattle threw another pokeball, this one releasing a small, white pokemon. It appeared to be almost entirely a head, though it had two small bulbs under its head with a small wisp. Michael frowned;

"Castform? Why would he have that on his team?" Snattle grinned and commanded

"Lunatone, Shadow Rave, and Castform, Weather Ball!" The Lunatone repeated its previous action, this time sending out a strange batch of dark stars that struck Umbra and Martha, confusing them. Then the Castform was surrounded by small white, cloudy balls, with one large one in front of it. It threw them up into the sky, the attack flashed, then came down on Umbra, resembling the same dark energy that was currently hailing on them. Umbra was struck on the head, and after a moment of struggling, he fainted, the attack too much for him. Michael shouted in disbelief, looking on his fallen friend. Growling at Snattle, he returned Umbra, thought for a moment, then threw out Clayton. The Baltoy looked on him for instruction, and Michael commanded

"Martha, Sky Uppercut on Lunatone! Clayton, Use Psybeam on Castform!"

"Lunatone, Shadow Rave again! Castform, Weather Ball once more!" Martha's speed proved superior, and even managed to avoid hurting herself, but Michael needed to fix the problem before it became truly troublesome. Clayton spun for a moment, then threw its arms, one toward its foot, the other to its head, and fired the multicolored, ribbony beam at the Weather Pokemon. It struck and pushed it back, but didn't manage to take it out. Lunatone's health was looking fairly low, so Michael decided to take the chance. He pulled out a Great Ball and put it through the Snag Machine, creating a Snag Great Ball. He threw it at the Lunatone, it snagged it, then fell and rocked for a few moments. However, it burst back out, much to Michael's annoyance.

"You'll never be able to beat us, boy! You should give up while you still have the chance!" Michael's fists clenched and he shouted

"Never! You bastards have done enough damage, and I refuse to let you do anymore!"

"Hmph. You're quite belligerent, you know that?"

"Shut up! Martha, Sky Uppercut that Castform!" Then he used Clayton's turn to relieve Martha of her confusion. Her eyes snapped forward, and she bobbed and weaved, striking Castform and sending it skyward, to land unconscious in the water. Michael sighed in relief as Snattle scowled angrily, returning it. He tossed up his last pokeball, revealing a Metang. Michael thought for a moment, then said

"Okay, Clayton, come back." The Baltoy returned willingly, and Michael threw out Mark, intending to capitalize on the Steel type's weakness.

"Martha, Headbutt Lunatone! Mark, use Flamethrower on Metang!"

"Lunatone, Shadow Sky! Metang, Psychic on Breloom!" Martha managed to get her strike in, just as Lunatone sent another ball of darkness into the sky, replacing the one previously which had just dissipated. Michael was close to screaming, but held back, intending to finish this with a full-on win.

Metang smacked Martha with the Psychic, taking her down as it was her weakness. Michael growled and returned her, sending Clayton back out.

"Alright guys, home stretch! Mark, Flamethrower on Metang! Clayton, Mud-Slap!"

"Lunatone, Shadow Rave! Metang, Iron Defense!" The Metang glowed brightly for a moment, which then faded out, but looked stronger. However, Mark's flames hungrily lapped its body, which was quickly put out by Clayton's attack, taking it down completely. Snattle scowled and Michael placed another Snag Ball through the Snag Machine, throwing it at Lunatone. It rocked three times and clicked, meaning Michael had succeeded. He sighed in relief, then held his hand out, the ball zooming to him. As soon as the ball made contact, it vanished, having been sent to his PC. He glared at Snattle, who was turning away, trying not to be seen. After a minute, he remarked

"Well, I might have lost today, but I've bought Gorigan the time he needs to finish his end of the project. Therefore, we will say goodbye for now, but this is not the last you have seen of me, boy!" He turned tail and ran, and Michael took a moment to calm down. He hated seeing these Cipher Admins; so far he'd taken on Lovrina, and now Snattle. Who was Gorigan? Another Admin? Michael certainly hoped not. He turned to Marcia and the camera guy, asking

"Are you okay?" She smiled and replied

"We're better than okay, we got some great footage!" She turned to the camera guy, asking tersely

"We _did_ get footage, right?" He smiled nervously, replying

"I got it all, from when he walked in to when he won! We're good to go!" Marcia smiled normally again, responding

"Good!" Then she turned back to Michael and told him

"Yeah, we got great footage of your battle. So, we'll take this down to ONBS and air it as an emergency broadcast. Then all of Orre will know without a doubt that Cipher has returned, but we've got a new hero around!" Michael simply nodded, glad that they would finally be uncovered. Marcia and the camera guy walked out, happy as could be. Michael, on the other hand, was still trying to think of a way to free the citizens trapped under the Pre Gym. Something glinting captured his attention, and he spotted a card key. He went to and pick it up, eyeing it. It turned out to be an elevator key, and his heart skipped a beat. Could this be?!

Not wasting another second, he flew out of the Phenac Coliseum and ran all the way back to the Pre Gym, where he burst inside, the students still sitting in their chairs. Michael's head whipped in the direction of the control panel, and he took bounding steps until he stood in front of it, scanned quickly, and nearly jammed the elevator key into the elevator controls. He looked up, and the elevator slid up entirely, granting anyone on this floor access to the underground area. He sighed in relief, then ran to it and took it down, though he inspected it first for Cipher PEONS, thankfully finding none.

When the elevator stopped, Michael stepped out and looked around, finding a strangely verdant training ground, offering a variety of terrains. And filling the training grounds were the citizens of Phenac City. Two of them, one he recognized as Justy, this time the real one, and another man in a crisp, not-so-clean-anymore suit, which he assumed to be the Mayor, stepped up, and the suited man asked

"Who are you?" Michael breathed deeply, answering

"Michael Ryuto. I'd heard that Cipher was planning to move onto Phenac City for some reason, so I came to warn you. But it looks like I was too late. Is anybody hurt?" The Mayor and Justy shook their heads, replying

"We were strong-armed, but none of us were injured. So is Cipher gone?" Michael nodded and explained

"I managed to beat the one who was leading this expedition of theirs, so they've retreated, for now. But I don't think they'll be coming back for a return visit." The Mayor nodded again, then turned and told his citizens

"People of Phenac, we're finally free! Let's all get out of here and see the sun again!" They all cheered, and the Mayor turned to Michael, telling him

"I must make sure they're ferried out properly, but I encourage you to stop by my house." Michael nodded and stepped aside, allowing the citizens to file out several at a time. After about an hour, he and Justy were the last ones to take the elevator topside, where Justy remarked

"You must be one hell of a trainer to have beaten Cipher back. I'm labeled as the strongest trainer in this town, but even I couldn't hold them back! For you to beat them and run them out… that's something else." Michael simply shrugged in response, and Justy continued

"I'd like your P*DA number. When I'm ready, I'd like to take you on myself and see what sort of trainer you are." Michael nodded, more than willing to have an honest battle with a good man. After Michael told him his P*DA number, Justy walked up to the control panel, telling him

"I also have some information you might find useful; shortly before Cipher infiltrated Phenac City, I saw a batch of them heading up northeast, with a lot of heavy equipment to boot. I was going to investigate, but then we were attacked." Michael nodded, understanding.

"As it stands, I don't want to risk leaving the citizens unprotected, and now that I've seen Cipher's power for myself, I don't think I can take them on myself. So, can I show you the direction they were heading and ask you to investigate?" Michael nodded and replied firmly

"Yes. I'll go and see what else they're doing, and likely chase them out if need be." Justy nodded, and Michael took out his map. Justy eyed it for a moment, then took a marker and drew a very specific direction, remarking

"This is the direction they were heading. There's something important out there, hence the equipment, but I'd have no idea what." Michael nodded again, then rolled up the map, saying

"I'll get right on it, then. It was nice meeting you, Justy, and I hope we get to have our battle soon; I'm tired of fighting gutless, honor-less bastards." Justy paused for a moment, remarking

"You've got quite a mouth on you for a kid." Michael grunted, retorting

"I sure don't feel like a kid anymore. That's all done and over with."

"Aah, don't think like that. You've still got some good years on you; you'll see, things will improve."

"Well, maybe. But I'll have to see it for myself."

"Fair enough. I'll try and get the Gym open soon, so good luck against Cipher." Michael nodded and walked out the door, deciding on the spur of the moment to speak with the Mayor before checking out the new, unknown location. He quickly found the Mayor's house again, walked inside, and found the man in a fresh suit, sitting at his desk.

"Aah, the Savior of Phenac! Please, come in, come in!" Michael nodded and did so, taking the chair on the other side of the Mayor.

"So, dear boy, this entire city owes you a great debt." Michael shook his head, replying

"No, no debts. I was more than happy to run Cipher out, not least because they're endangering humans and pokemon at the same time. I'm just glad no one was hurt… besides the shadow pokemon. But I'm going to take care of them, and everything should go back to a sense of normalcy." The Mayor nodded, then insisted

"Despite your request for no debts or rewards, I want you to have something. Since this is a coveted item by most trainers, and very useful among them, I think you'll accept it." Michael wondered what he meant, and the Mayor opened a large drawer, pulling out a helmet-like item with many spires topping it. Michael stared in dumb amazement, asking

"Where'd you get that?!" The Mayor smiled and replied

"I've had it for some time. I held onto it, to see if someone would come to claim it. But no one ever did, so I decided to give it out to a trainer I thought would put it best to use. As I can see, you'll definitely fit that bill." Michael nodded, still shocked that the Mayor had an Exp. Share, and was giving it to him! The Mayor smirked and commented

"I believe you're already imagining how to put this to use." Michael hung his head, asking softly

"Is it that obvious?" The Mayor laughed genially, relieving Michael to an extent.

"In a way, yes. The real teller, though, was your expression when I showed this. Like I said, this is a coveted item, and I could tell that you yourself, while no thief, would never pass up the opportunity to use this." Michael hung his head, believing he _was_ a thief; he took shadow pokemon, and while he had no qualm about taking them from Cipher, it was nerve-wracking to see some average trainer's expression after he snagged them. They knew their pokemon disappeared, and he was somehow responsible, but couldn't flesh out why. The Mayor didn't notice, however, handing the Exp. Share over to him.

"Get the most out of that, you hear?" Michael picked up his head, nodding. He stood and held out his hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for this gift." He took the hand, replying

"Thank _you_, Savior of Phenac City." Michael hesitated for a moment, then simply nodded. He walked out of the house and through the town, talking to various people and hearing much of the same thing; compliments about how strong he was, how he was their savior, and that Cipher didn't stand a chance while he was around. In a way, it was flattering, but he didn't want to become overconfident; it was too dangerous at this point to do that.

Sighing, he walked out of the city, briefly brought out Clayton and fitted the Exp. Share on him, then returned him and hopped on his scooter, kicking it to life. He checked his map for a moment, then headed in the right direction. The terrain became sandier, occasionally having trouble getting across. He persisted and kept going, until suddenly the wheels caught and could go no further, no matter how much he gunned it. Frustrated, he was forced to turn back, though he stopped just outside of Phenac City. He was effectively stuck now, and wondering what to do.

His P*DA beeped then, receiving an email, and he checked it. It turned out to be Nett.

*Hey, Michael, it's Nett. I was asked to help locate a missing pokemon that was on the _S.S. Libra_, so can you come back here real quick? That would be much appreciated, thanks!*

Michael breathed deeply, thinking for a moment; chances were he could avoid Cipher for a while doing this, and he really needed a break from them, so he would accept. He clambered back onto his vehicle and started the engine, driving over the sands that, in greater concentration, so he learned, caused him trouble.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael knocked on the door of the penthouse on top of the ONB Station, and heard a reply;

"Come in!" Michael opened the door, spotting immediately Nett and his helper friend, as well as two new people, an old man and a young girl. Nett said

"Ah, Michael, you're here! Now we can get started! So, this is the gentleman and his granddaughter who have lost their pokemon." Michael nodded and approached them, holding out his hand and asking

"How do you do, sir?" The man shook his hand, replying

"Well, we're worried about our little pokemon. We put him on the ship, since it was going to take him to another that would take him to his homeland. You see, he's from a different place, and we thought he must be missing his friends. But when we saw the news the next day, my little granddaughter just fell apart. So we've been trying to find him for some time, worried that Cipher might get to him first. That's why we asked Nett to help us, and then he called you in, I suppose." Michael nodded and knelt in front of the girl, reassuring her

"Don't worry, I'll get your pokemon back before anyone can hurt him." She looked up tearfully, hopefully, asking

"Really?" Michael nodded firmly and told her

"You have my word." The little girl smiled now, and she started.

"Oh! Here, I have a picture you can use to help you find him!" She took out a small photograph and handed it to Michael. He looked at it and was immediately confused at what he was seeing. It looked a lot like a crying bonsai tree, and he pointed to it, asking

"This is a pokemon?" The grandfather nodded, replying

"Yes, I was surprised at first, too. But I found it one morning while attending to my garden, and he's been with us since. He cries a lot, but he's not really crying, I think. There might be something else at play, but at the moment that's just speculation." Michael nodded and looked at the photo again, when Nett inquired

"Michael, why are you covered in sand?" Michael looked over himself, finding a multitude of granules stuck on his clothes. He explained

"I went to Phenac and found out that Cipher had basically abducted it; they were trying to take the places of the citizens and keep them from discovering something, but Justy, the leader of the Pre Gym, spotted a group of them traveling northeast. I tried going that way myself, but the sand's too deep, so my scooter couldn't go further." Bitt, Nett's friend, thought for a moment, then remarked

"You should ask Perr to upgrade your scooter. If anyone can help with technology, it's him." Michael thought for a moment, then nodded and said

"Alright, I'll go do that, then I'll search up the area where Cipher was headed. For all we know, that's a holding place for pokemon, and it could be where-" He stopped himself before he stated that it might be where the missing pokemon was, so as not to scare the little girl. Nett just nodded, understanding what he was getting at.

"Alright then, go ahead and get that done; good luck." Michael nodded and took off, hoping to get this entire mess resolved soon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael stopped at the topmost stair entering Gateon Port, inhaling the fresh, salty air. There were almost no beaches in Orre, so Gateon was the closest available thing to it. There were beaches nearby, but he didn't have time to lounge around; he was on a schedule.

He quickly found Makan's Parts Shop and went inside, finding Perr at the register again.

"Hey, I remember you! The guy who was here for the part ordered by Professor Krane, right?" Michael nodded, and Perr asked

"So, whattya need this time?"

"I'm looking to upgrade my scooter so it can travel over deep sands. I'm going places, but can't quite reach them." Perr nodded understandingly, but argued

"Well, I'd like to help ya, but grandpa's out again, so I'm afraid there's nothing I can do." Michael was about to argue, but the television flashed to life with an emergency broadcast, and the footage taken by Marcia's camera guy was displayed, with Marcia giving commentary, then showed their argument with Snattle, and finally Michael's battle with him. Michael was surprised to see himself on tv, not least because his expression was extremely fierce. He scared even himself. After it ended, Perr turned to him, his expression filled with awe.

"Whoa… you're really taking them on, aren't you?" Michael nodded nervously, and he continued

"Well, like I said, I'd like to help ya, but you need the conversion kit, and only grandpa gets access to it. He went over to Kaminko's again, so why don't you see if you can go and get him back here?" Michael nodded and immediately set out the door.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael stopped outside the prison-like gates of Kaminko's manor and walked inside, still set off by the settings. There was simply no way all those thunderclouds were natural, but he wouldn't have much time to think about it.

"Halt! Who goes there?" Michael groaned and thought

"_Oh no, not again…" _Michael turned and spotted Chobin waddling up to him.

"You again! The burglar from before! Will you criminals never learn your place? If not, then Chobin must do it for you!" Michael tried to protest that he wasn't a burglar, but Chobin was more deaf than blind, which was saying something. He threw out his Sunkern and a new addition, Gyarados. Michael sighed and tossed out Mark and Charlie, starting off.

"Mark, torch the Sunkern. Charlie, Body Slam Gyarados." They followed orders, flying faster than Chobin could have anticipated, and Sunkern went down in nothing flat. Charlie slammed into Gyarados and wound up paralyzing it, much to Chobin's chagrin. Michael sighed

"Mark, finish this with Crunch." Mark ran forward, his jaws glowing darkly. A shadowy dark force grew from his mouth, making them appear at least two to three times as large. He brought the power down, biting enormously on Gyarados and finishing it off. Chobin blinked in dumb shock under his glasses, unable to believe what he'd just seen. As Michael returned his pokemon, Dr. Kaminko stepped outside, demanding

"What's with all the shouting?!" He spotted his assistant and turned to him.

"Chobin! What's the meaning of this noise?!" Chobin pointed to Michael and told him in a quavering voice

"This burglar has come to try and steal the brilliant doctor's ideas, and Chobin tried to stop him. But he was stronger than Chobin anticipated." Kaminko looked at an exasperated Michael, who began to try to explain he wasn't a burglar, but Kaminko cut him off.

"Very well, then. Chobin, go fetch… 'it'." Chobin's eyes lit up excitedly, and he asked

"You mean, _that_ 'it'?" Kaminko nodded and replied

"Yes, I think it's ready. Fetch it, and show this burglar just what he came to see." Chobin chuckled evilly and went straight inside, with Michael sweatdropping. Kaminko turned to him, his glasses flashing opaque.

"So then, burglar, you will soon meet your match and superior. I will give you this chance now to run, if you wish." Michael riled

"But I'm not-!"

"Persistent, aren't you? Very well, then, meet the instrument of your destruction. Chobin, now!" There was a massive amount of rumbling coming from underground, the fountain stopped spitting water, opened up, and a strange red robot with Chobin sitting in its stomach area rose out. Michael sweatdropped and asked

"What the hell is that?" Kaminko chuckled and replied

"Behold, the Robo Groudon! Its capabilities will increase a trainer's strength five-fold!" Michael's sweatdrop grew and asked sardonically

"How's a robot going to increase a trainer's strength?"

"Hmph! Shows how much you know. Why not take it on and see for yourself?" Michael sighed and stepped forward, muttering under his breath

"The stuff I have to do…" Chobin chuckled and taunted

"Is the burglar trembling in fear?" Michael rolled his eyes and replied under his breath again

"More like irritation." The arms each held a pokeball and spun for a moment, tossing them higher than they usually went. Michael expected to see the pokemon he'd just beaten, but instead of Sunkern he saw Sunflora.

"Oh, so you evolved it, eh? Well, that won't hold Mark back, except possibly its defense. But we'll see." He tossed out Mark and Charlie again, saying

"Alright guys, just like before; Mark, torch the Grass type; Charlie, Body Slam."

"Sunflora, Sunny Day! Gyarados, Hydro Pump on the Houndoom!" Michael facepalmed, remarking in his mind

"_This kid doesn't know what the hell he's doing; Sunny Day increases Fire moves and decreases Water moves. Not to mention Hydro Pump is very inaccurate." _As he predicted, Hydro Pump, which was smaller than normal, was off by a mile, but Mark's attack struck dead on, as did Charlie's. Michael sighed and asked

"Kid, you just wanna give this up while you still have some dignity left?"

"Shut up, burglar! Chobin will teach you not to underestimate the power of the Robos!" An irritation vein pricked up on Michael's head, and he shouted

"How many times do I have to say it?! _I'm not a burglar!_" He repeated his previous moves, taking down the Sunflora and paralyzing the Gyarados in the same turn. Chobin next tossed out a Hoppip, a poor choice in Michael's mind. He sighed and commanded

"Mark, Crunch on Gyarados! Charlie, Ice Beam Hoppip!" They followed his choice of strategy, and Gyarados went down without too much trouble, Hoppip nearly so and becoming frozen. Chobin was in a bad spot and knew it, but wasn't yet wise enough to stop. His last pokemon was a Tropius, which Michael knew would be an easy win.

"Alright, switch! Mark, Flamethrower on Hoppip, and Charlie, Ice beam on Tropius!" They nodded and followed through, and since the sunlight faded away, Ice Beam's strength went back to normal. The last of Chobin's pokemon went down without incident, and Michael returned his own. The Robo Groudon seemed to break down, shorting out, and Michael knew it was finished. Chobin clambered out of the robot and looked at Michael again, then started and declared

"Oh! Chobin remembers you now! You're Jovi's big brother, aren't you?" Michael simply growled, irritated that it had taken him so long to remember. Kaminko looked at him as well, remarking

"Is that so? Well then, at least the Robo Groudon was properly tested." He looked back to his creation, continuing

"And it was an utter failure. Chobin, we're done with this project; throw it in the scrap heap." Chobin started, then begged

"No, wait Dr. Kaminko! Chobin thinks he can rebuild it, make it better! Please, let Chobin keep it!" Kaminko looked at it for a moment, then turned and replied

"Very well, do with it what you want; I don't care anymore." Chobin thanked him profusely, then set to work getting it back on the platform after obtaining Michael's P*DA number for a rematch, a difficult task, seeing as it was completely shot at the moment. Michael went inside and asked the doctor where Makan was, and he explained that he was downstairs and not to bother him. Michael ignored that part, though, and took the shaky, rather smelly, elevator down, where he spotted a pillar that led up to the opening he remembered the fountain being, understanding now how the Robo Groudon made it to the surface.

Makan was nearby, looking at another piece of machinery on another platform. It seemed similar to the Robo Groudon, but was blue in color and far more streamlined. In fact, were he a bit more tech savvy, he would have said it was designed for use in the water. Michael walked up, tapping his shoulder and speaking to him.

"Mr. Makan?" He turned, asking

"Yes, can I help you?" Michael nodded and explained everything that had happened thus far, Cipher's plots and schemes, his involvement, and his current dilemma. Mr. Makan nodded and turned back to the blue machine, remarking

"Kaminko really has something amazing here; I'd be sad to see it scrapped so quickly. Just let me arrange to get this back to Gateon Port, and I'll meet you there to solve your problem. Just take your scooter around to the west end of Gateon; I've got a path for things like vehicles." Michael nodded and walked out of the manor entirely, hoping he wouldn't have to come back often; Cipher was insane enough without adding Kaminko's craziness into the mix.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael stood aside, waiting as Makan put the finishing touches on his scooter, amazed by the dexterity of the old man. Chances were that, because of his curse, he wouldn't get old himself, so he planned to enjoy life as much as possible once he was finished with Cipher. Finally Makan leapt up, declaring

"Finished! Now your scooter is a hover scooter, capable of traveling over sands and other not overly wet terrains, so don't try taking it out over a lake or ocean." Michael smirked and replied

"Promise. Thanks for your help, Mr. Makan."

"Anytime, my boy! I've seen your exploits, and I've gotta say, you're quite something else." Michael just shrugged, and he said

"Well, I'll just bring this out front, and you can take it out that way; the stairs won't be much trouble." Michael nodded and left the store, where he was met up with Mr. Verich. The short, old rich man looked up at him, remarking

"Heard very recently that you took care of Cipher in Phenac City. Good work, young man." Then he promptly turned and left, his bodyguards following after him. Michael shivered; despite the fact that he was complimented, he had the distinct feeling it was more of a death wish than anything else. He was distracted with the sounds of his new hover scooter coming out. He thanked Mr. Makan once again and hopped on, immediately feeling the difference as it didn't bounce on the terrain, since it traveled on air now.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael felt some trepidation as he approached the shifting sands beyond Phenac City. Thus far, he'd experienced no problems whatsoever, and he enjoyed the smooth ride much more now. When the dune that had stopped him previously came into sight, he closed his eyes and waited for impact; when it didn't come, he opened his eyes again, watching it fade away behind him. Ecstatic, he continued on eagerly, knowing he was this much closer to finishing Cipher for good.

After about half an hour, he stopped at the most incredible and disturbing sight he thought he'd ever see; the large cruise ship that everyone was curious about disappearing was sitting in front of his very eyes. It was broken in half, easily, and a massive hole was ripped into the hull. This portion was sitting upright, so it could be inspected without too much trouble. Nevertheless, Michael was absolutely stunned at the sight of the enormous cruise ship, just sitting in the desert. He recalled the words of an elder at Agate Village, claiming he saw a flying Wailord. It made sense that he'd seen the ship as it was being carried here.

But carried by what, exactly?

Michael shuddered, not sure he wanted the answer. Shaking his head to clear it of his thoughts and sand, he dismounted the scooter and walked toward the large hole, glad in a way he'd lived in a desert all his life; he was used to the hot, dry, sandy conditions that he was trudging now.

Inside the ship seemed rather large and empty, though that much was expected. He looked around, finding conveniently raised platforms. They had holes within them, but he also found boxes of pokefood that could be pushed to fill them in. He worked for a while until he could finally bypass this cargo area of the ship, coming onto the main deck. There he spotted three people, obviously with Cipher since two of them were PEONS. The last one, however, was an extremely burly man, with a rounded head and rather small lower body. His entire structure was reminiscent of a gorilla, much like Slaking, in fact. They all turned and spotted him, and Michael watched them nervously. The gorilla man grunted and remarked

"It's just a kid. I gotta get back to the factory, so you two take care of him." Then he walked off, relieving Michael. The remaining PEONS walked up, and one of them told him

"That was Gorigan, leader of the Shadow Factory. On the other hand, we're the ones you should be worried about now!" The battle began and ended quickly, with Michael's victory. The PEONS quickly ran off defeated, and more strangeness made itself known. Michael saw a man who looked kinda like a mix of a worker and a hobo. He introduced himself, explaining that he'd made the ship his home now, especially because there was plenty of food on board, and since Michael had chased off Cipher, he was welcome to take a rest, which Michael felt wasn't necessary at the moment.

"Well, if you don't need a rest, then could I ask you a favor? There've been some strange noises goin' on down below deck, but I'm too scared to check it out myself. Don't have any pokemon, see. So, can I ask you to do that?" Michael shrugged, agreeing.

"Thank you, lad. It's just downstairs from the inside main room. You can't miss it." He went back inside then, and Michael sighed.

"How did I get so entrenched into this?" Shaking his head and moving on, Michael descended many levels, coming across obstacles such as broken platforms that needed a box of pokefood to cross, though there was always conveniently one around when he needed it. At last he came to an end room, where he spotted what looked like an odd brown bonsai tree-

Wait! Michael whipped out the picture again, comparing the two. It was sitting, apparently its legs tuck into its body, it was sleeping, and wasn't crying right now, but there was no mistaking it for something else. He quickly walked up, trying to get it, but it suddenly woke up, crying, popped up, and ran to the other side of the room. Michael blinked as it settle back down and went back to sleep. He scratched his head a moment, then decided to try a gentler approach. He crawled over to it, and he was much closer this time. In fact, he nearly got to it when suddenly his P*DA went off, scaring the poor pokemon and sending it running away before Michael could grab it, falling to the floor in his attempt to do so. He grumbled and stood, brushing himself off and taking out the P*DA.

"This had better be good." He saw it was from Jovi's friend's mother, the writer. He frowned and wondered what she wanted, opening the email to check.

*Hello, Michael. I've recently heard of your exploits, and I wanted to interview you for an article. If you could come down to Gateon Port at your convenience, that would be much appreciated. Thank you!*

Michael shouted a string of curses that, if his mother were here, would have appalled her and caused her to scrub out his mouth with soap, but he didn't care at the moment. Once he finished his tirade, he walked irritably back up the stairs, explaining what the noise was to the hobo-worker-freeloader. He was relieved it wasn't anything more serious, to which Michael rolled his eyes, then set out to leave.

Just as he was exiting the ship, however, he spotted a group of three shady men, apparently waiting for him. The leader of them sneered

"Well, well, lookie here. It's that hero on the tv." Michael scowled and asked

"What do you want?" He pointed to the Snag Machine, replying

"That. You see, we come from Team Snagem, and ever since five years ago, Snag Machines have been in rather… shall we say, short supply?" Michael's scowl deepened further, and he grasped two of his pokeballs. The man laughed and said

"Oh, please! I'm not going to fight you; I'm not stupid." A Gloom came out from behind him and he commanded

"Gloom, use Sleep Powder on the kid!" Michael's eyes widened, and green powder flew into his face. He could feel himself growing drowsy, and though he fought to stay awake, he couldn't manage it. The last thing he heard was

"Alright, we got it! Let's get out of here." Then all was black.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael groaned lightly as he woke up, propping himself weakly on his arms and grasping at his head with his left arm. It was then he became aware he felt his _hand_, not his glove. He opened his eyes and found to his dismay that the Snag Machine was completely gone. His gaze grew sadder, and the man from before walked in.

"Finally, you're awake! I was worried when I saw those thugs come by, knocked you out cheaply, and then robbed you of that… weird machine on your arm. But I managed to get you in safely." Michael thanked him, his voice dull, then walked out onto the deck. He looked out over the side of the ship, thinking

"_I've lost the Snag Machine… Wes wouldn't have lost it… what am I going to do now?"_

**I think I'll cut off there. So, let me know what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!**


	5. Ch 5 Cipher Key Lair

**Well, I'm feelin' good, and I can concentrate my efforts on this story, so let's get underway! **

Michael walked listlessly, missing desperately the weight of the Snag Machine on his arm. He couldn't go home, not now. He couldn't face the overwhelming, crushing disappointment that would no doubt ensue. But without the Snag Machine, and not letting them know he'd lost it, how was he supposed to do his job? There was simply no way, and he acknowledged that.

How dependent he had become on a piece of machinery… but the fact remained that without it he could not successfully snag shadow pokemon, thereby letting him purify them properly. It was a hopeless situation, and he'd ignored the recent emails, asking, begging him to come home, at least for a while. He just couldn't stand it.

He sat on a log, being in Relic Forest at the moment. He sighed heavily and brought out his closest friend, Umbra. His pokemon were already aware that the Snag Machine had been stolen from him, and were awaiting his orders as to what they were going to do next. But Michael had no ideas. The Umbreon looked up at his master, wondering what was going through his mind right now.

"I'm a failure, Umbra, plain and simple." Oh, so that was it. Umbra immediately began disagreeing with him, telling him that he couldn't have predicted being attacked directly with Sleep Powder, he shouldn't be ashamed, as no human or pokemon could stand up to its effects, except those with Insomnia, of course. Michael, however, didn't respond, so Umbra delved into his pack and brought out the very map they had been using for some time now. He unrolled it in front of Michael and placed a paw on the indicated direction the inhabitant of the S.S. Libra watched the Snagem bandits running off to. Michael looked at it briefly, then sighed

"It doesn't matter, Umbra. Even if there was anything there, what are the odds that the Snag Machine's also there? I certainly wouldn't leave it there." Umbra rolled his eyes, then tackled Michael to the forest floor, map in mouth. He placed it on Michael's chest, telling him in his own language that Michael needed to stop feeling sorry for himself and get his act together. Despite the language barrier, Michael seemed to understand.

"Alright, fine. I'll go, but I'm telling you, it's pointless." Umbra head-butted his chest, clearly disagreeing. Michael sighed and sat up, Umbra jumping off. Still listless, Michael packed up the meager supplies he had used, returned Umbra, and then mounted his hover scooter, taking off for Eclo Canyon.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael stared in shock, as it wasn't what he was expecting at all. What he saw was a massive pyramid-shaped structure with a long, large ramp that led directly into it. He couldn't identify what it was, but at the moment it was the least of his concerns. Right now he could see, on a rounded platform that sat in eerily purple water, a couple Steam Snagem grunts, and in front of them, the very thug who nearly attacked Jovi, Zook. Michael felt his blood begin to boil, but he watched as Zook's Shadow Zangoose easily took down the Snagem's pokemon, an Oddish. The Snagem grunts ran off, tails between their legs, and Michael scoffed. Unfortunately, this caught the thug's attention.

"You! You're the damn brat whose sister ran into me, then challenged me! I got into a lotta trouble 'cause of you! The boss wasn't too happy that I was showin' off my shadow pokemon, but now I can make up for that. Alright, brat, let's go!" He tossed out his Shadow Zangoose and a normal Doduo. Michael hesitated, but he couldn't turn the battle down since it had already started. But he had no way to snag the Zangoose, so was he just supposed to knock it out?

"Hey! You gonna battle, or do I have to rip you apart myself?!" Michael's head snapped back up, scowling. Automatically he threw out Martha and Charlie, commanding

"Martha, take out the Zangoose with Sky Uppercut, and Charlie, Ice Beam the Doduo!" Zook retaliated

"Zangoose, Shadow Rush Breloom! Doduo, Peck the Breloom!" Martha's speed was best, though Doduo quickly followed, though it met an unfortunate defeat at Charlie's Ice Beam, frozen to the ground. Martha struck the Zangoose for massive damage, and it quickly ran away, totally deserting Zook. Michael growled his displeasure, but there was nothing he could do at the moment. Zook yelled angrily, tossing out another pokemon, a Carvanha. Michael's scowl deepened and he shouted

"Charlie, finish off the Doduo! Martha, Giga Drain on Carvanha!"

"Carvanha, Bite Sealeo! Doduo, get unfrozen, dammit!" Michael smirked, knowing that wasn't going to do jack-squat. He watched as both his pokemon went down fairly easily, despite Carvanha being able to make its strike. Zook was clearly getting unbalanced, and he tossed out his last two pokemon, a Seviper and Relicanth. Michael hesitated for a moment, then held up the ball and said

"Charlie, retreat for now." The beam struck his pokemon and pulled him back, and in his stead he sent out Clayton.

"Alright, Clayton, use Psychic on the Seviper! Martha, Giga Drain!"

"Seviper, Poison Tail on Breloom! Relicanth, Water Pulse that Baltoy!" The Seviper launched forward, its tail blade glowing purple, but Clayton's closed eyes glowed as well, stopping the serpent before it could strike. Martha ran around it and rushed the ancient fish, lashing with her tail to break its charging attack, then drained it of its energy. It wasn't enough to completely take it down, like Clayton handled the snake, but now it was the only opponent left.

"Alright, let's finish this! Clayton, Psychic! Martha, Sky Uppercut!"

"Relicanth, AncientPower!" Martha, naturally, was much faster than the rock fish, and she struck on its plated head, in the jaw. It went down easily and Zook returned it. Then he scoffed

"It's just luck on your part. But I can't have my reputation ruined like this. So go on, do whatever you want! I don't care anymore!" Michael scowled and walked past him, thinking

"_Luck was the cause of my victory? Bull. I don't believe in luck, it was a case of my pokemon being stronger than yours, you sore loser."_ He spotted two bodybuilding bodyguards in front of the ramp, and both of them impeded his way. After thinking it over, he realized that this couldn't be Team Snagem's hideout anyway; otherwise, they wouldn't have had to battle Zook, who was more affiliated with Cipher, at any rate. But now what was he supposed to do?

At that moment, he got an email from Secc, telling him something came up and his help was needed again. He thought for a second, then turned.

"_As long as it doesn't involve snagging, I can help. Otherwise, I'm useless."_

**Pyrite Town…**

Michael made his way to Secc's office on the second floor. When he walked in, Secc immediately noticed something different, and remarked

"Hey, what happened to the machine you had on your arm?" Michael scowled, answering

"Team Snagem stole it." Secc blinked in obvious shock, asking incredulously

"You mean those guys are still around?!"

"You know anything about 'em?" Secc bent his head, thinking.

"Well, about five years ago, during the first Shadow Incident, Team Snagem was its own organization. However, they affiliated with Cipher, which was really just beginning, striking a specific deal. Snagem would steal, or snag, the pokemon of ordinary trainers, hence the name. Then Cipher would turn them into shadow pokemon, distributing them among the Snagem members and themselves. However, when Wes defected and stole their portable Snag Machine, Cipher threw them off as dead weight. I'm sure that left them with a bad taste in their mouths." Michael's scowl became less pronounced as he started to empathize. But it came back as he stated

"But they just want my Snag Machine to go back to their criminal schemes!" Secc shook his head, telling him

"Don't be so certain about your opinions, Michael. People _can _change, despite what you might think. Just look at the shadow pokemon; they're completely evil when they're at full force, but you've been purifying them, so they're not evil anymore, right?" Michael argued

"There's a difference! And besides, without my Snag Machine, I can't exactly do that anymore." Secc nodded, assuring him

"Well, I'll look over everything we know about Team Snagem and get back to you on that. For now, though, the reason I called you over here is because we got an anonymous call, saying he heard about a famous new Snagger who was beating back Cipher. He used to work at the place where the shadow pokemon were created, but he couldn't stand the sight of what they were doing to them, so he ran, but managed to take one shadow pokemon with him. He wants you to purify it, if possible." Michael nodded, and Secc further told him

"He'll meet you in the Outskirt Stands. Can I see your map for a sec?" Michael blinked and frowned slightly, not familiar with the name. He pulled out his map of Orre, asking

"Outskirt Stands?" Secc grunted and explained

"It used to be a train, transport for cargo and passengers, you know? But in a desert, that idea didn't pan out so well; it got stuck when a sandstorm completely covered the track everywhere, and would have taken far too long to dig back up. So we left it where it was, an old refueling station, and some outsiders decided to renovate it into a sort of restaurant and hangout, and it's been that way ever since. It's a pretty famous place in its own right, though it's also where criminals and the like tend to go, though never in broad daylight. Still, you're a decent trainer, so you should be fine." Michael sighed, asking

"Alright, where is it?" Secc took a marker and circled a specific area, telling him

"Right in this vicinity. The place is pretty well known for blustering winds and the like, but the train is still in pretty decent shape, so that's a bonus. You really can't miss it." Michael nodded and took the map.

"I'll be on my way, then." Secc nodded, hesitated for a moment, then told him

"Hey, Michael?" The redhead turned, wondering what he was going to say.

"Why don't you call home, or something? I know you're on an important mission and all, but your family must be worried sick about you." Michael hesitated, then replied

"Alright, I'll visit them." Secc nodded.

"That's all I ask, for them. Your mom will probably be a nervous wreck." Michael thought for a moment, then simply nodded. He walked out, leaving Secc to sigh heavily. Michael walked out of Pyrite Town, thinking on Secc's words. He also remembered the emails his mother and sister were sending him, asking for word back. He hated to make them worry so much about him, but he was going to have a hard time facing them. But did he have to?

Sighing, he made his decision, taking off for the Outskirt Stands.

**Outskirt Stands…**

The train's front was the only surviving piece of what Michael was envisioning. Of course, the most he'd actually seen of trains was in a picture book, and they always depicted an entire train, the front, caboose, and cars in between. There was a wooden ramp which led to the "door", but Michael only took a couple steps before he heard an annoying sort of ringing, though it sounded familiar. It wasn't his P*DA, but where did he know the sound?!

He concentrated intensely, thinking where he might have heard it last. A sudden memory came to him, that of the Cave Poke Spot, and those two lackeys of Miror B.-

Wait! That was it! Michael's hand whipped the Miror Radar out of his fanny pack, and it told him that Miror B. was in the immediate vicinity, practically on top of him! He looked around, panicking, but didn't see him. His attention was caught by a couple figures walking out of the front train, which he quickly recognized as Trudly and Folly. They started wondering and asking each other if what they were doing was right, mentioning Miror B. Said flashy diva walked out, saying

"I heard my name. You boys talking about me all of a sudden?" He then noticed Michael, and said

"Oho! The young lad from before, Michael! I demand a battle this instant!" Michael scowled, bringing up two of his pokeballs.

"I'd only be too glad to thrash you again."

"Mmm! Such fire, such spirit! That's something to dance to, I tell you!" Michael nearly lost it, shouting

"We're not dancing, we're fighting!" Miror B. smirked, replying

"Indeed. Well then, let's not put this off any further. Let the music play!" Even over sand, he still managed to moonwalk, but his entire demeanor was a joke to Michael, and he wanted nothing more than to just be rid of him. However, he quelled the desire, waiting for him to toss out his pokemon. Predictably, he had two Lombre, so he sent out Earnest and Umbra.

"Okay, guys, let's do this. Earnest, Signal Beam! Umbra, Shadow Ball on the other!"

"Lombres, another Rain Dance!" They both danced strangely, summoning a torrent of rain that greatly irritated Michael. Earnest's attack struck the one to Michael's left, so Umbra targeted the other.

"Alright, now switch!" However, one of the Lombre moved faster than he could have predicted, and he belatedly realized

"Shit, it's got Swift Swim!" Miror B. taunted

"That's right, darling! And the other sports a Rain Dish! So, try as you might, you'll be sure to lose out to my amazing dancing troop!"

"Ah, shove it! Earnest, Umbra, don't let up!"

"Lombres, let's use our Scratch and Fury Swipes!" Each of the hatted pokemon rushed up, dealing slight damage to Michael's pokemon before being knocked out by them, at which point Miror B. threw out another Lombre and a Shadow Nosepass, which still angered Michael, but for different reasons. He still didn't have the Snag Machine, so he still couldn't snag shadow pokemon.

"Argh! Alright, Earnest, Signal Beam that Lombre! Umbra, Shadow Ball on the Nosepass!"

"Lombre, Fake Out on the Ariados, and Nosepass, Shadow Blitz that Umbreon!" Lombre practically flew across the battlefield, clapping its palms together right in front of Earnest's eyes, making him flinch. Umbra and the Nosepass rushed each other, each trying to avoid the other's attacks, until the Nosepass slammed into Umbra's side, at which point he fired his attack, striking its large nose.

"Earnest, try again! Umbra, Bite!" Both his pokemon managed to attack first, and the Lombre became confused while the Nosepass flinched. Michael sighed in relief, then commanded

"Alright, Earnest, Sludge Bomb Lombre, and Umbra, use Psychic to throw Nosepass back!" They did so, and the Nosepass decided it'd had enough, running away from the battle. Miror B. shouted after it, but it made no move to come back. Miror B. growled and said

"You'll pay for that one, little boy." His Lombre succumbed to the poison, and he only had one pokemon left, which he tossed out. Much to Michael's annoyance, it was a Ludicolo.

"Dammit, I'm getting sick of seeing these things! Alright, Umbra, Confuse Ray! Earnest, Sludge Bomb!"

"Ludicolo, Fake Out that Umbreon!" After Umbra flinched, Earnest's ball of poison struck Ludicolo dead on, poisoning it badly. However, it had Rain Dish, so the current weather worked for it, though it faded out shortly.

"Ludicolo, Rain Dance!"

"Earnest, Signal Beam! Umbra, Shadow Ball!" Earnest struck the dancing plant, confusing it, and Umbra nailed it directly, taking down its Special Defense in the process.

"My, my, you're quite the battle demon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and I'm draggin' you down to hell with me. Repeat!" The battle was quickly decided after that, and Miror B. pulled his pokemon back.

"Well, that was some battle. I await our next meeting, but for now, retreat!" He and his lackeys ran away, Michael forcing himself to calm down once again.

"Man, I don't know what it is, but every time I find that guy I lose it. I need a vacation already." Sighing, he walked inside the train, not completely sure what to expect. It looked like a small restaurant, complete with booths for the patrons. There also appeared to be a small shop, and standing next to this was a man dressed like a scientist, who looked very nervous and fidgety. This had to be the guy who escaped. Michael walked up, asking

"Excuse me, are you the guy that called ONBS anonymously?" The man looked at him, in what Michael would almost have said was terror, and he looked around very quickly, then spoke in a hushed whisper.

"Yes, I am, but I beg you not to broadcast that. If they find out where I am, they'll be sure to kill me!" Michael nodded slightly, and he looked around again. He reached into his coat, pulling out a shrunken pokeball.

"I only managed to escape with this one, a Shadow Togepi. There's still so many more at that Key Lair, also known as the Shadow Factory, where they're mass-producing shadow pokemon. I heard about a young boy who was taking them on, though, and purifying the pokemon. I figured the best chance for this poor soul was that remarkable child, and hope you could return it to normal." Michael nodded and gently took the pokeball, clipping it to the empty space on his belt he provided for it.

"Thank you for calling this in. But most of all, thank you for coming to your senses." The ex-Cipher scientist nodded, replying

"I hope you find a way to shut them down, and soon. Many more pokemon could be spared if you do." Michael nodded again and responded

"I'll do my best." Then he walked out, not intending to stay any longer. He looked up to the sky, which was beginning to grow darker, signaling it was going onto evening. He sighed as he contemplated the next part of his plan, but he at least needed to see them.

**The Pokemon Research Lab…**

Michael stopped just short of it, making sure his scooter wouldn't wake anybody up. He didn't want to be a bother, especially since he wasn't showing up with much to show for his efforts, or so he thought. He walked up the door, unlocking it with his own key, thankfully the automatic lock being silent. He was granted access, and walking inside he found that it didn't look any different, except for being empty and dark. Sighing, he took the elevator upstairs, winging his way through the rooms until he finally made it his and Jovi's rooms. He walked inside Jovi's room to see her, but she wasn't there.

Confused, he went to his own room, where he spotted Jovi and her Plusle and Minun lying on his bed, all asleep. He riled up and was about to wake her up rather rudely, but something stopped him; Jovi was frowning in her sleep, apparently very much sad about whatever she was dreaming about. Michael frowned slightly, then shook her lightly, whispering

"Jovi, wake up." She moaned and shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. Instead, she mumbled

"Big brother, don't go… Jovi misses you…" Michael's heart broke upon hearing that. His family really did miss him, dearly, and he was causing them unnecessary pain. How he wished he didn't have to do this anymore, but no one else could take over for him; he wouldn't allow it at this point. Instead of waking her up, though, he simply walked to his desk, pulled out and turned the chair around, and sat in it, setting his pack on the floor next to him. He looked at Jovi for a few minutes, her sad face, and he wished more than anything he could play with her, like old times. But at the moment he was feeling extremely drowsy…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, Michael woke early, before the sun was even making its appearance. Jovi and her pokemon, as well as the research lab as a whole, was still asleep. Michael looked at Jovi sadly, wishing so badly things could go back to the way they were… no, better than that. But it just couldn't be, and in order to make sure no one else suffered, he needed to stop Cipher from controlling the entire region.

Sighing in resignation, he turned the chair around, took a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote a note to his sister.

_ Jovi,_

_I'm sorry I'm not around more often. But to tell you the truth, I really wish I could. I want to feel free again, and play with you and our pokemon together. But right now, I've got a job, an obligation to you, the research lab, and all the people of Orre. I need to see it through, but I promise, when I'm done, we'll spend a lot of time together, okay? I miss you and mom a lot, and I promise I'll visit when you're all awake real soon. But right now, something big has come up, and I need to handle it. Once I do, we're going to have a lot of fun together, okay? Be strong, sis, for both you and Mom now. I'll see you guys soon._

_ -Big brother._

It was paltry, but it was the most he could manage at the moment. He also needed some further supplies, and though it felt low to eat and dash, he needed to put the highest priority to everyone's safety. He scooped up his pack and went to the kitchen after affording one last look at his sister.

In the kitchen he restocked his supplies, explaining to his mother that he needed them desperately at this point, as well as his new diet to explain why none of the meat was taken. He also requested her not to email him, as he was about to take on a very large portion of the syndicate and needed to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

At last, when the sun was peeking up over the mountainous horizon, he stepped outside in the cool air, breathing deeply. He hopped onto his scooter and set out to the nearest town with a Pokemon Center. He had already placed the Shadow Togepi within the Purify Chamber. Though it wasn't as personal, it let him continue to defeat Cipher while it was purified. Besides, the news of the Shadow Factory had to be addressed, but first he needed the Snag Machine back. To that end, he needed information on Team Snagem and their whereabouts.

**Pyrite Town; ONBS**

Michael walked into Secc's office, and he greeted

"Ah, Michael! I was actually about to email you! Did you take the time to visit your family?" Michael hesitated, then answered

"In a way, yes." Secc sighed, saying

"Well, I'm not here to help the hopeless. You came for info on Snagem, right?" Michael nodded, and Secc told him

"Well, after some digging around, I found out they're using their old hideout again, so it's almost like they're back. However, other than that, I've pretty much got nothing. It's just north of the Outskirt Stands, so the way will be pretty much familiar to you." Michael nodded, bringing out his map again, asking

"Right in this general area, then?" Secc looked to where he was pointing, nodded, and told him

"That'd be the area. Still, be careful. No one's seen them for five years, so there's no telling what they've been up to in all that time." Michael nodded again and was going to leave, but Secc caught him by the wrist. Michael looked back, and Secc told him firmly

"You really need to talk with your family at some point, and I mean face-to-face. I've been getting calls and emails from them, asking where you were. I hate to tell them I don't know, because then they start worrying about you. Seriously, let them know you're alright." Michael nodded and he let go, and Michael said

"I plan to spend some time with them once I take care of this. I found out where their Shadow Factory is, and I intend to shut it down. But there will no doubt be a lot of shadow pokemon there. I need the Snag Machine back if I'm going to succeed. Once they're crippled, they'll be much easier to take down, and I can finally relax enough to be with them before taking Cipher down for good." Secc nodded, approving more or less.

"Just make sure you keep to that. I've seen how you get when Cipher is mentioned, and we don't want you suddenly taking off. Okay?" Michael sighed, starting to get annoyed.

"Look, I get your concern, but right now I'm trying to make sure no one else gets hurt, alright? I'll keep my promise; I always do. But right now, I _have_ to shut down that factory." He didn't give Secc time to answer, walking out the door and heading out for Team Snagem's base.

**Team Snagem's Hideout**

Michael stared with a mixture of reverence and disgust. The Team Snagem base was a large building, the majority of it in shambles since Wes blew it up. They clearly were too lazy or had no money whatsoever to make repairs. It was probably a mixture of both. Nevertheless, he exercised caution as he walked up, finding on his left a hole large enough to walk through, if it became necessary. He immediately encountered one of the grunts, who was shocked to see him. He went down pretty easily, and Michael moved on.

He also got an email, telling him the Realgam Tower was open to trainers across Orre. Since he had much larger priorities at the moment, though, he ignored it, but made a mental note to check it out when time afforded and he needed to train his pokemon further.

As the day progressed, Michael found a multitude of items lying around, and even a healing machine, for which he was immensely happy for. He evolved Clayton, and Charlie was very near evolving again, he could tell. By far, though, he was happiest that Team Snagem, so far, had no shadow pokemon to speak of, which made his job much easier, simply able to thrash them, which pleased him.

After many hours, he finally came to the end of his journey in the Snagem base when he walked up the stairs to a room that was very different from the rest in that it was more decorated and more or less clean. A large desk sat at the end, sitting behind it a far larger man. Like most of the grunts, he was bald, but he had very long, wiry eyebrows and mustache. His muscles were large, in many cases as large as Michael. He also had a multitude of scars on his arms and chest, from what he wasn't sure, nor did he think he wanted to know.

"Well, well, looks like that rat what's been thrashing our group. So, I'm guessing you're here for this, right?" He pulled out the Snag Machine, and Michael's heart skipped a beat. He slowly nodded, replying

"That's exactly why I'm here. Will you give it back?" The man grunted and slung it over his shoulder, walked forward, and told him

"Tell ya what, here's what I'm going to do; you battle me. If you win, I'll give it back. If I win, I keep it. Short, sweet, and simple. I want to see what sort of fighter you are for myself. So, whattya say, kid?" Michael sighed in resignation, knowing he had no other choice.

"Fine, I'll play your game." The grunt who had stolen the Snag Machine originally, which Michael hadn't noticed in the large man's domineering presence, suddenly shouted

"Mr. Gonzap, you're not serious, are you?!" The man, Gonzap, turned to him and replied

"Well, I sure ain't a liar! If he wins, he gets it back. So I have said, and so I will do, if he does win. Now, let's start." He tossed out an Electrode and Nuzleaf, and Michael tossed out Earnest and Clayton.

"Okay, guys, we have the Snag Machine riding on this, so I have to ask you to go all out." They nodded and turned forward, and Gonzap started.

"Electrode, Explosion! Nuzleaf, Protect!" Michael's eyes widened in shock, and he shouted

"Earnest, get behind Clayton! Clayton, Protect!" Then it followed in a sequence of events; Nuzleaf and Clayton erected green shields to protect themselves from the undoubtable damage that was about to ensue, and Earnest tried to scuttle to Clayton. At that moment, however, Electrode flashed in a fiery explosion, the power smashing against the shields and blowing Michael, but not Gonzap, back. Earnest felt the full force of the move, slamming the spider pokemon and sending him tumbling on the field. He just managed to survive, but as was the wont of such moves, Electrode was taken down completely. Gonzap grunted, remarking

"Well, your Ariados is stronger than I gave it credit for. You're not too bad, kid." Michael growled, standing back up and walking to the field of battle.

"Earnest, can you still fight?" The spider tried to make a valiant effort, and was able to stand, but was very weak. Michael immediately used a Hyper Potion on him, restoring his desperately needed health.

"Alright, throw out your next pokemon!" Gonzap grinned, commenting

"You don't waste time. I like that." His next pokemon was a Vileplume, and Michael thought

"_This is a tough decision; do I stick with Clayton and use Psychic moves, risking Grass retaliation? Or do I pull out Mark and take down Grass with Fire, risking Poison?" _After a moment, his mind was made up.

"Okay, Earnest use Signal Beam on Nuzleaf! Clayton, Psychic on Vileplume!" Gonzap retaliated

"Nuzleaf, Protect! Vileplume, Sunny Day!" Michael looked outside, seeing the sunlight's power increase. He immediately knew the game here, and he waited until Clayton's attack followed through, lowering its Special Defense in the process. Then he said

"Okay, Earnest, keep trying Signal Beam! Clayton, retreat!" The Claydol returned to its ball, and Michael sent out Mark in his stead. Gonzap grinned now.

"Wow, you're thinking ahead, predicting my moves before I call 'em. Not bad, kid, but there are more than one uses for Sunny Day, you know." Michael scowled heavily, and the grunt shuddered visibly. Gonzap raised a wiry eyebrow.

"Well, you've got quite a battle face, too, but it's going to take more than that to make me give up. Anyway, Nuzleaf, Shadow Ball on that Ariados. Vileplume, Hyper Beam the Houndoom." Michael commanded

"Earnest, Signal Beam! Mark, Flamethrower!" They fired their respective attacks, and while they dealt heavy damage, neither one of them went down, and after the enemy pokemon fired their attacks, Earnest took normal damage, but Mark was heavily damaged by the massive beam of energy. Michael growled, saying

"Earnest, take a breather!" He focused on Mark for the time being, restoring him with another Hyper Potion, and telling him

"Vileplume needs time to recover; let's take advantage of that. I want you to try our Fire Blast." Mark blinked at him, and he said quickly

"I know we haven't practiced with it much, but I believe in you, alright? We really need the Snag Machine back." After a brief hesitation, Mark nodded, and Michael stepped back, commanding

"Mark, Fire Blast!" Gonzap remarked comically

"This might sting a bit." Mark charged a ball of fire in his mouth and shot it at the panting Vileplume. It expanded into a bright, fiery red five-pointed star, slamming into the poison plant for massive, super effective damage, taking it down completely. Gonzap returned it;

"Dang, that was impressive. But we're still a long way from finished." Next he tossed out the mud fish, Whiscash. Michael pulled Mark back, knowing he wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance. In his stead he pulled out Martha, commanding

"Earnest, finish off that Nuzleaf with Signal Beam! Martha, aim for Whiscash with Giga Drain!"

"Nuzleaf, Protect! Whiscash, Rain Dance!" The Whiscash flopped awkwardly on the floor, but it still got the job done, bringing a torrent of rain to fall outside. Once again Nuzleaf was protected from damage, which pissed Michael off as he watched Earnest's Signal Beam splash against the shield in a blast of color. Martha managed to make contact, but she didn't completely down it.

"Alright, this is getting fun! Nuzleaf, Hyper Beam the Ariados. Whiscash, Hyper Beam Breloom."

"Dammit! Stand up to it, guys, and repeat your previous moves!" However, Earnest couldn't take the sheer power of the Hyper Beam, and fell unconscious. Martha barely escaped a similar fate, but just barely. Michael returned Earnest, thinking hard. After deciding, he tossed out Mark again, explaining

"I want you to team up with Martha. Use Crunch right after she uses Giga Drain to finish it off if it needs it." The Houndoom nodded his understanding, and Martha took a generous amount of energy from Whiscash, which looked nearly finished. Mark came in and finished it off, and Michael sighed in relief.

"We're almost done."

"Don't count on it, kid. I've still got one left, and this'll be a doozy." He tossed out a metal bird, clad completely in gray and red armor, and Michael blanched.

"Skarmory?! Dammit, you're really figuring out how to piss me off!"

"Whatever. Just keep fighting; you're almost there." Michael growled, then commanded

"Martha, Sky Uppercut on Nuzleaf! Mark, Fire Blast the Skarmory!"

"Nuzleaf, Protect. Skarmory, Spikes." Michael was screaming in his mind over Protect, hating it with all his might, but unfortunately, the Wily Pokemon was safe for yet another turn. Mark fired the inferno ball again, but it veered off, missing the Skarmory. It drew its wings in, then suddenly threw them up, throwing a multitude of spiked objects and surrounding Michael's team.

"Alright, let's try this one more time! Martha, Sky Uppercut on Nuzleaf, and Mark, try another Fire Blast!"

"Nuzleaf, Protect. Skarmory, Mud Shot that Houndoom." Michael grit his teeth in annoyance, but was surprised when the Nuzleaf got as far as a ball of light green-blue light in its hands, which shorted out; the Protect had failed.

"Martha, now!" The Breloom rushed in, striking the enemy as hard as she could, and it flew back, crashing into the wall. It's eyes became swirled then, and Gonzap pulled it back. He turned forward just in time to watch his Skarmory get torched to Kingdom Come, and he sighed.

"Well, that's that, then. You won, I lost. As promised, the Snag Machine's yours." He tossed it over, Michael catching it, completely and totally surprised.

"Wait, you're not trying to backstab me? You're not going to wrench this thing and my arm off next time?"

"Look, kid, I may be a villain, but even I have moral standards. Besides, when I look at it, we're not so different; we both want to see Cipher fall. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?" Michael paused for a moment, thinking. Gonzap continued

"Besides, the darn thing wouldn't have fit on me anyway." The grunt nearby facepalmed, and Gonzap finished

"You clearly know what you're doing, so I might as well get whatever revenge I can while you're thrashing them. Sound like a deal?" After a moment, Michael nodded hesitatingly. He made his way out, and thankfully Team Snagem avoided him like the plague at this point, and he immediately angled back to Eclo Canyon, ready to take on Cipher's Shadow Factory.

**Cipher Key Lair…**

Nothing looked different from when Michael saw it previously, even Zook was still hanging around. Speaking of the thug, he spotted Michael and told him

"Hey, punk, I did some toughening up, and now we can take you down completely!" Michael smirked and replied

"Not today, meathead!" Zook roared angrily and the battle was on. Somehow he had managed to either retrieve or keep his Shadow Zangoose, which made Michael much happier now that he had the Snag Machine again. He snagged the shadow pokemon and defeated Zook fairly easily. After Michael finished thrashing him, Zook decided he'd had it with Cipher and didn't want anything more to do with them, walking off. Michael sighed and looked forward.

"Now to deal with those guards…" He walked toward them again, hoping it would be possible to sneak past their immense bulk. Luck was not on his side, though, as one of them turned to him, saying

"Hold up! Identification, please." Michael blinked dumbly and answered in a like manner.

"Uh…" The guard looked down, spotting the Snag Machine, and asked

"Hey, weren't you on tv?" Michael frowned slightly, replying

"Yeah, but why does it matter?"

"You were the one beating us back! Maybe if I thrash you, they'll make me an Admin!" He raised his arms, as if he was going to crush him, which he probably could, and Michael thought

"_Oh, shit! This can't be how it ends!" _No sooner than he thought that a powerful voice shouted

"STOP!" The guard flinched, surprised, and looked to where the command came from. To Michael's surprise, he saw Gonzap and a couple Snagem Grunts walking up. The guards turned to him, and Gonzap told Michael

"We'll handle these guys. You go do your thing inside." Then the grunt who originally knocked Michael out, Wakin, he believed, ordered his Gloom

"Sleep Powder on those thugs!" The poisonous plant complied, knocking the two guards out cold. Michael blinked in surprise, then thanked them for resolving the problem. He turned and walked up the massive ramp, eventually entering the pyramid-shaped structure.

He was immediately attacked, right as he stepped inside, and Michael prepped his mentality for the onslaught that was sure to follow. He thrashed the PEON, though he had no shadow pokemon on him, and moved on, scouring the place. There wasn't much to remark about, though, so he went through what appeared to be a laboratory, where a few scientists were working. Michael spotted something odd, what looked like a lever. Getting the odd feeling that it might come in handy at some point, Michael grabbed it and tucked into his belt, continuing on his way.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael made it to the roof, panting from running around so much, trying to avoid traps, snagging shadow pokemon, and pushing crates to activate doors in order to progress.

"Damn, I'm going to be some sort of superstar athlete with the amount of running I'm doing." He spotted a large, sort of penthouse-like structure with something bulky on top and several PEON lookouts. He huffed and took down the remaining PEONS without too much trouble. So far, from the Shadow Factory, or Cipher Key Lair, he had managed to snag a Shadow Zangoose, from Zook, and Growlithe, Beedrill, Tangela, Magneton, Venomoth, and Arbok. He also lost a Shadow Paras, Shellder, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, and Weepinbell. Luckily, he found out previously, though he didn't know how it was possible, that Miror B. picked up whatever ran away. By that method, he'd found the previous Shadow Delcatty, Vulpix, Pineco, Spearow, Seel, and Nosepass. Now he just had to wait for the rest, and everything would fall into place.

After having thrashed the PEONS on the roof, and used the healing machine downstairs to restore his pokemon, he quickly ascended the stairs to the second level, where the bulky structure was more visible than before. It had the look of a powerful generator, with an empty slot that looked perfect for a special lever. Michael smirked and took out the lever he'd swiped from his belt, sticking it in and finding it a perfect fit. He twisted and pulled it, and a warning screen flashed up, asking him if he really wanted to overload the generator. He took a moment to think about it mockingly, then chose "Yes". The generator glowed more brightly than before, making a lot of clattering noises, before it died altogether, leaving the Shadow Factory totally without power. Smirking with satisfaction, he descended the stair and walked into the office just below the previously working generator, finding the large, gorilla-man sitting at his desk, looking more than just miffed.

"So, some cheeky little bastard's been wipin' out my crew, and completely shut down my Key Lair. I wouldn't suppose you know what's goin' on, brat?!" Michael mocked thinking for a few seconds, then replied sarcastically

"Gee, mister, I wouldn't know. I mean, it's not like a kid could have done it, right?" The man, who he remembered to be Gorigan, growled, and in an impressive display of physical power jumped over his desk, pounding his chest, and shouting

"I'll kill you, kid! First your pokemon will be taken, then you'll be severely brainwashed until you're a drooling PEON!" Michael scowled and pulled up two of his pokeballs, ready for the challenge. The first two pokemon he sent out were Lairon and Sealeo. Michael tossed out Martha and Clayton. Gorigan shouted

"Sealeo, Protect! Lairon, Earthquake!" Michael cursed in his mind, shouting

"Martha, Sky Uppercut on Lairon, and Clayton, use Thunderbolt on Lairon!" The Earthquake did minimal damage to Martha, given her Grass type advantage over the Ground type move, and because of Clayton's Levitate did nothing to him at all. Martha got in massive damage with the skyward attack, sending Lairon on its back. Clayton finished it off with the strong Electric move, and Gorigan was clearly not happy.

"Grr! You brat! I'll show you! Take 'em out!" He threw in his next pokemon, a Slowking, and Michael knew this one had a very diverse move pool, on top of being advantageous to his current fighters.

"Crap, we're going to have to move fast. Guys, focus your attention on Slowking; Martha, use Giga Drain, and Clayton use Shadow Ball!" Gorigan smirked now and ordered

"Slowking, Protect! Sealeo, Surf!" Michael swore, knowing this turn would be completely wasted for him. He watched as Clayton took the brunt of the damage from the super effective water move, so much so that he wound up fainting. He growled to himself, then tossed out Earnest, hoping to compensate against the Psychic with a Bug.

"Okay, Martha, Giga Drain on Sealeo! Earnest, Signal Beam on Slowking!"

"Slowking, torch that bug! Sealeo, Aurora Beam!" Michael was forced to watch as Earnest was struck by a very effective Flamethrower, though luckily didn't pass out from it. He returned fire, striking the Slowking in the head and confusing it. Meanwhile, Martha was blasted by the Ice move, which thankfully wasn't as strong as an actual Ice Beam, and she managed to recover the damage by taking Sealeo's health. Sealeo didn't go completely down, and Martha's health could still use attention. Michael focused on taking care of Earnest, commanding

"Martha, nail Sealeo again!" Gorigan shouted

"Slowking, use Psychic on that pesky Breloom! Sealeo, repeat your previous move!" The Slowking paused for a moment, then tried to focus its mind, though it wound up lashing back, striking itself instead. Michael sighed in relief, watching as Sealeo traded proverbial blows with Martha, striking for damage but ultimately getting the short end of the stick. It went down after a moment, and Michael sighed in relief. Gorigan replaced Sealeo with an Ursaring, and Michael already had a plan.

"Okay, Martha, Sky Uppercut on Ursaring, and Earnest, another Signal Beam on Slowking!" Gorigan used Ursaring's turn to use a Persim Berry on Slowking, then ordered

"Slowking, Flamethrower on Ursaring!" Michael blinked in confusion, but Gorigan's pokemon accepted the orders without complaint. Perhaps because they were too scared to rise against him. At any rate, Slowking torched the bear pokemon before being struck with the super effective Bug move, taking it down. Martha weaved around, then struck Ursaring for a super effective and critical hit, taking it down in one move. Michael sighed in relief, thinking it was almost over, but Gorigan smirked, telling him

"Now you're doomed, brat. You thought those were tough before? Then get an eyeful of these!" He tossed two pokeballs simultaneously, and out came a Primeape and Hypno. The Aura Reader went crazy, telling him _both_ were shadow pokemon.

"Oh, crap…" Gorigan chuckled throatily, then commanded

"Hypno, Shadow Down! Primeape, Shadow Blitz the bug!" Michael frowned slightly, replying

"Martha, Headbutt that Hypno! Earnest, Sludge Bomb Primeape!" The results were that Hypno used the strange status shadow attack to harshly lower his pokemon's defenses, and Primeape lashed wildly, striking Earnest for big damage. In fact, Earnest went down from the attack, and Michael shouted in disbelief. After a moment, he started thinking hard.

"_Crap, what do I do now? It's a dangerous gamble here, and my best bet is to use speed and try to do medial damage. Mark's got excellent speed, and luckily that Primeape is a shadow pokemon, so it can't use Fighting moves. But if and when Martha goes down, what do I replace her with? Charlie's too big and lumbering to get the first strike, though I guess Umbra's got the right stats." _Making his decision, he tossed out Mark.

"Alright, Mark, use Crunch on the Primeape! Martha, Headbutt again!"

"Primeape, Shadow Blitz on Breloom! Hypno, Shadow Rave!" Michael cursed as he watched his pokemon become confused, and while Mark's attack went through, Martha tripped, injuring herself in the midst of the attack. Primeape finished her off, and Michael cursed repeatedly in his mind. He threw out Umbra, used his turn to snap Mark out of his confusion, and said

"Mark, repeat that Crunch on Primeape!" Gorigan went for the exact same moves again, this time targeting Mark with Shadow Blitz. Mark's attack landed before Hypno's, for which Michael was glad. He once again used Umbra's turn to restore Mark's condition, then charged an Ultra Snag Ball. He threw it at Primeape and swiped it, then waited for the verdict. It rocked a couple times, was still on the third, and Michael waited nervously. Miraculously, it clicked, and Michael sighed in relief as Gorigan roared angrily. He pulled the Snag Ball back to him, then shouted

"Mark, use Bite! Umbra, Thunder Wave!"

"Hypno, Shadow Storm!" Michael's neck prickled at the sound of the move, and it soon proved to be the twin tornados he remembered from his nightmare. He would have screamed, but his throat was paralyzed at the moment. Mark and Umbra took the damage, then shook it off and attacked, whittling its health and inflicting paralysis. They waited on their master to try and snag it, but when they looked back saw that he was paralyzed with fear. Mark barked loudly, and the hellhound's cry was enough to make even Gorigan flinch with sudden fear, and managed to snap Michael out of his reverie. Growling, he set up another Ultra Snag Ball, then launched it at Hypno. Thanks to it being afflicted with a status move, it was much easier to catch, and the battle was over.

"Grah! You damn brat, you've ruined everything! When I get my hands on you-!" Michael stepped back involuntarily, but the screen behind Gorigan's desk flickered to life, and the image of the back of a chair greeted them. They both looked at it, and a dark, evil, commanding voice said

"Gorigan, calm yourself. You have lost; do so with grace." Gorigan was visibly cowed, and the voice said

"Michael, was it? You've come very far in a short amount of time. You do your father proud." Michael riled, shouting

"Who the hell are you?!"

"Oh? So you don't recognize my voice? Pity." The chair swung around then, revealing, to Michael's utter shock, Mr. Verich! He blinked, then asked

"M-Mr. Verich? What are you doing? Why are you sitting there?" He chuckled evilly, replying

"Pitiful, naïve boy. I am the leader of Cipher, of course. My name isn't Verich, it's Greevil! And you, my prepubescent friend, have been a massive thorn in my side since you rescued that annoying professor from our Shadow Lab. I've been keeping a close watch on you, and I must admit you've surprised me, including the destruction of the Shadow Factory. But no matter. The preparations are very near completion, as XD001's work is complete, and is currently in my possession. It can never be purified, either, so even if you manage to snag it, you'll never return it to normal. Come and try, if you dare. You will find me on Citadark Isle, off the coast of Gateon Port. I will be waiting." The screen darkened then, and Gorigan admitted

"It was because XD001 was fighting the transformation that it dropped the cruise ship in the desert. But now it's complete, so we don't have to worry anymore. Still, if it hadn't dropped the stupid ship, we'd have a lot more shadow pokemon at our disposal." Growling slightly, Gorigan walked out. Michael spotted a chip of some kind on the desk, and when he retrieved and inspected it, it proved to be a list of the shadow pokemon, all of them, even their locations and status. Michael excitedly downloaded the chip, checking over the list of pokemon.

There were still a few that he hadn't purified despite catching, mostly from the Key Lair. There were also many that he'd already purified, which made him happy. However, he absolutely blanched at the sight of the pokemon that he'd yet to encounter. He managed to shake it off, though, and forced himself to travel back through the Key Lair. When he rounded the corner toward the exit, though, he heard a strangled shout, followed by a declaration.

"We've been robbed!" Michael rushed forward, spotting a worker. He turned and relayed to his fellows and Michael

"We just got robbed, and of the last legitimate shadow pokemon, too! It was this kid with a Mohawk and a tall guy with a massive afro." Michael frowned, recognizing the descriptions, then asked

"What did they take?" Another worker checked on his computer, and relayed

"It was a Shadow Dragonite." Michael growled lightly, then shook his head. He walked outside, breathing deeply and glad he was out of that situation now. He had a slew of shadow pokemon still to take care of, not to mention handling Citadark Isle. But at the moment, that had to wait; he had made a promise, to Jovi, that he would return once he finished his business. Besides, he needed a break, and what better way than to spend with his family? At any rate, he owed it to them after being there, most likely them knowing it, but running out before properly saying anything.

Heaving a big sigh, he walked down the ramp and left the premises, hopping onto the scooter and heading home.

**Next time, we'll see a bit of touching times, then move on to the big finish! Ooh, this is getting intense, ain't it? Lol. So, as always, leave your thoughts in that review box, just below this. Come on, I know you wanna… LOL!**


	6. Ch 6 The Master Ball And Robo Kyogre

**And so we continue. This will be for the most part touching, and at times sad, so read on and leave me a review when you're done!**

Michael pulled up to the research lab, killing the engine and dismounting. He looked on his home, amazed and disturbed by how foreign it felt to him. Though his friends and family were inside, it felt as if they were miles away from him. Inhaling deeply to steel his courage, he walked up and entered the door, and almost immediately he spotted Jovi and the Professor. Jovi spotted him as well, a wide smile split her face, and she ran over, shouting

"Big brother! You've come back!" She tackle-hugged Michael, and while it was initially uncomfortable, he returned her embrace. The professor walked over more calmly than Jovi, greeting

"Welcome home, Michael. It's been a while." Michael shook his head sadly, agreeing, and replied

"Sorry about that, but I've been… busy." Krane nodded.

"Yes, we've heard about you all over the place. You've become quite a celebrity now." At this point, Lily walked in, and upon seeing her son, whole and sound, or so she believed, she rushed over, joining Jovi in trying to keep him from leaving again so soon. Michael felt distinctly uncomfortable with the contact, though, and squirmed slightly. Lily released him then, took his face in her hands and started inspecting him, worried. Michael tried to pull out, complaining

"Mom, stop, I'm fine." She ignored him, until finally she was satisfied he was still in one piece. She hugged him again, finally speaking.

"I was so worried about you, Michael. Why have you been ignoring us?" Michael looked down, shamefaced, and replied dully

"I've been dealing with Cipher a lot, Mom. The shadow pokemon, they've been… damaging, in a way." Lily tilted her head in confusion, asking

"Damaging? In what way?" Michael couldn't bring himself to tell her that he was having multitudes of nightmares, most of them concerning her, Jovi, everyone he cared for and loved. That was why he ignored them; so those nightmares didn't become reality. Professor Krane interjected

"I think I may know. Michael, have you been suffering from existential nightmares recently?" Michael's eyes flashed in panic, but he forced the emotion down, trying to answer calmly, but still with a slight tremble.

"Why would you ask that?" Krane gave him a sardonic look, responding

"Michael, do you take me for an idiot? I know the effects shadow pokemon have on normal people. I'm the leading professor on shadow pokemon, for Mew's sake!" Michael hung his head, knowing he'd have to own up to his problems sooner or later.

"Yeah, since that Teddiursa attacked me, I've been having nightmares. They get worse the more I'm attacked, but I can't just shun them aside, nor can I let someone else take the responsibility of purifying shadow pokemon, because I don't want anyone else to suffer what I'm going through." Lily's eyes were covered in a film of tears, and she looked to Krane for guidance. He thought for a short while, then sighed.

"Well, we already know that once Michael sets his mind on something, nothing can deter him from his path. He takes that much from his father, though there is definitely a hint of you I there, Lily." The pink-jacketed woman looked at him for a moment, then asked

"But what do we do? Is there any way to stop this madness?" Krane sighed heavily, replying

"Perhaps, but for the moment, the only solution we have that is viable is already in motion, with Michael taking them on directly. It may not be the prettiest solution, or most desirable, but it's the most cost-effective and least damaging for everyone concerned. The best remedy for him right now would be some counseling and rest." Michael hesitated now, then interrupted

"I'm afraid I don't have too much time for that." The professor, his mother, and sister all looked at him, and Lily asked

"Why? Aren't you interested in stopping the nightmares?" Michael hesitated, then sighed and told her dully

"Mom, no matter how hard we try, the nightmares won't stop. I can tell. Besides, I've found out who the leader is, and he said that their project, XD001, is finished, and can never be purified. I need to get that pokemon and prove them wrong. Besides, they're heavily crippled now, which gives me time to rest and recover for the week I promised Jovi, but then I can't put it off any longer." Jovi walked up, hugging him tightly.

"Big brother, please don't go anymore. Jovi misses you." Michael felt his heart throbbing, and he knelt down in front of her, saying

"Jovi, I told you I was going to stay for a week. I never break my promises, but I need to handle Cipher. No one else can, because they don't have experience like I do." Jovi frowned, arguing

"What about Wes? Hasn't he fought them before?" Michael hesitated, then countered

"Yes, but he's nowhere to be found. Chances are, he's not even in the region anymore. And given what I know, it's not hard to imagine why. But ignore that for now; I'm here for the week, so why don't we go outside for a while, hmm?" Jovi's mood immediately picked up, and she replied happily

"Okay!" Jovi ran outside, Michael following shortly after Lily and the professor watched, and Lily asked, looking for reassurance

"Can he do it, Krane? Can he defeat Cipher and take on this unpurifiable shadow pokemon?" Krane smirked, replying

"I'd believe only two people in the world could take them on, and that's Jonathan and Michael, seeing as they're practically the same person. The only difference is that Michael's head is a little cooler than his father's." Lily smiled sadly, responding

"You're right about that. But still, I'm worried he's going to suffer irreparable damage." Krane shook his head, and squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"Just believe in your son, okay? He's got strength beyond any I've seen before, comparable to Jonathan's. He has his own brand of fortitude, and that's what will see him through this. All right?" Lily nodded hesitantly, and Krane walked off, having some matters to attend. Lily had her own business to work with. Sighing, she walked to the window, watching as her son introduced his pokemon to his little sister.

**Outside**

Jovi looked at all six of the powerhouses that Michael had worked with for the past several months, asking

"Okay, so let Jovi see if she has this straight; the Umbreon used to be Eevee, but is now Umbra. Everyone else was a shadow pokemon that big brother is now using against Cipher?" Michael smirked and replied

"Yep. The Ariados is Earnest, the Claydol is Clayton, the Breloom is Martha, the Houndoom is Mark, and the Walrein, recently evolved from Sealeo, is Charlie." Jovi looked over all of them, then smiled widely and stated

"It's nice to meet all of you! You've been protecting big brother from harm, haven't you?" The pokemon all looked at one another, then faced her and nodded simultaneously. Jovi giggled at the sight, remarking

"Big brother, you've got some cool pokemon with you!" Michael smirked, feeling the tension of months without proper human contact lift away.

"Thanks, Jovi. How are your pokemon doing?"

"Mimi's great, but Pluplu got a cold, so Mimi's taking care of her." Michael thought for a moment, then smirked and said

"Come with me; I've got an idea." He began to walk back to the research lab, Jovi following curiously. They went to the kitchen, where Michael brought out a blender, after having to use a step-stool in order to reach it. He huffed, irritated

"How is it I can take on a criminal syndicate single-handedly but need a step-stool to reach the blender?" Jovi giggled, replying

"You're short, big brother!" He rolled his eyes, retorting

"Not as much as you, squirt." Jovi puffed her cheeks, mumbling

"Jovi's not a squirt." Michael chuckled, then hopped down to the floor, quickly setting the blender on the nearby counter, low enough for him to reach it easily. He went over to the fridge and pulled out several selections of berries, and Jovi tilted her head, asking

"Big brother, what are you going to do with those?" Michael smiled and carried the berries in his arms to the sink, where he washed them, then carried them back to the blender, explaining

"I'm gonna make a healing berry smoothie that, if done right, will make Pluplu all better." Jovi's eyes glinted and she asked

"Really?! You're going to cure Pluplu?!" Michael smirked, replying

"Hopefully. If it works, she'll be as good as new. If it doesn't, all that happens is she gets a fruity concoction for a meal. So there's really no downside." Jovi smiled widely, then told him

"Well, hop to it, big brother!" He chuckled, and poured the berries into the blender, placed the top on, then turned it on to "puree". He waited until the berries had mixed together into a pleasant purple-pink smoothie. Only then did he stop it and pour it out into several glasses. Jovi was slightly confused and asked

"Why did you make so much?" Michael smirked and handed one of the glasses to her, retorting

"Why should we miss out on the deliciousness? Besides, she might not be interested in drinking it until we do so ourselves." Jovi grabbed her glass, remarking

"You're smart with pokemon, big brother!" He shrugged modestly, then grabbed one of the glasses, pouring it into a feeding bottle. Finally he scooped up his own glass, finally saying

"Well, let's get this to Pluplu immediately, nurse!" Jovi giggled, replying

"Yes, Doctor Big Brother!" The two children laughed and walked back to their bedroom complex, entering Jovi's room and finding the sickly Plusle on her bed, with Mimi watching over her. The two mouse-like pokemon looked up at them, Pluplu more weakly than Mimi, but both were surprised to see Michael again. He smiled and held out the feeding bottle, explaining

"Pluplu, I heard you were sick, so Jovi and I went and made this for you." Jovi looked at him in confusion, but didn't challenge it. Pluplu weakly shook her head, and Michael persisted

"But it's got lots of healing berries in it. It'll make you feel better, I promise." She called out weakly, and Michael walked over, straightening her position on the bed, then grabbed his glass and drank a hearty amount. He licked his lips, remarking

"It came out better than I expected! Come on, just try it, please?" Pluplu sighed, knowing he wouldn't let up, so she reluctantly agreed. Michael helped her sit up, then took the feeding bottle and pressed it against her mouth. She took a few sips, and after doing so felt remarkably better. With that came a measure of strength and a ravenous appetite. She grabbed the bottle and promptly drained it down, surprising Michael for a moment. Once it was bone-dry empty, she smacked her lips and hopped up, feeling monumentally better. She called out happily, and she and Mimi danced around briefly before touching tails and creating shimmering sparks. Michael smiled at the sight, and Jovi shouted

"You cured her, big brother! You should be a pokemon doctor!" Michael smiled sheepishly, replying

"Nah, I'm a trainer through and through. I just had a lucky break." Jovi rolled her eyes, retorting

"Big brother doesn't believe in luck; he knew it would work and is just trying to act modest." Michael chuckled nervously.

"You always see right through me, don't you?" Jovi giggled, replying

"You're easy to see through, big brother!" Michael shook his head halfheartedly, sighing. Finally he drained his glass, saying

"Alright, so your pokemon are all better now, it's time to relax!" Jovi cheered, then pulled him along to the cafeteria room, where she pointed at the TV and told him

"Wanna see yourself on tv? You're pretty cool, actually!" Michael rolled his eyes, telling her

"Been there, done that. You know what I'd really like to do, though? Have some regular battles. That's kinda fun!" Jovi thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she shouted

"Wait right here!" She ran out then, and Michael wondered what she could have been up to. After several minutes, she was seen dragging the professor and Lily into the room, with both of them protesting that they had work to do. Once they were all gathered, Jovi told them

"Big brother wants to have fun battling, so Jovi set up a day for us to go to Realgam Tower! Big brother will participate in a tournament, and we get to watch in front row seats!" Everyone else blinked in surprise, and finally Lily asked suspiciously

"How did you set that up? It's not an easy process." Michael added

"And in such short time, too." Jovi grinned and pulled out a small, plastic card.

"Jovi used this! It was easy, since mommy uses it for everything."

"My credit card!" Michael and Krane laughed for a brief time before Lily's glare shut them up, and she told her daughter sternly

"Jovi, I have told you not to use that without my express permission."

"But then we wouldn't get to go anywhere." This sent Krane and Michael back into laughter, and not even Lily's glare could stop them, though since she was smiling unwillingly herself, it wasn't very threatening. Finally she sighed and relented

"Alright, fine, we can go, as long as Michael doesn't have any complaints." Michael smirked, replying

"I got nothing to complain about! It'll be nice to battle some strong trainers in honest battle. And now you guys get to see my skills." Lily rolled her eyes, mumbling

"I've heard that one before so many times." Everyone laughed, and Michael asked

"How are we going to get there, though?" Jovi grinned, taking the floor of attention again.

"Jovi took care of that, too! The transport vehicle will be here in a few hours, and we get to stay the night in a fancy room!" Lily sighed, remarking

"I'm going to be making payments on that card for months to come."

**The Next Day; Realgam Tower**

Michael and his family, along with Professor Krane, stood in front of the reception desk, and Michael stepped forward.

"Excuse me? I've got a slot in today's tournament, Michael Ryuto." The receptionist looked on her computer, then nodded and said

"Yes, I've got you right here. You're in for the full tournament, correct?" Michael smirked and nodded, knowing Jovi would have done that.

"Alright, then. Here's your tag, just go into that elevator right there." She handed over a laminated tag on a lanyard, which Michael hung around his neck. He walked to the indicated elevator, then waved at his group, proclaiming

"I'll show you guys a battle like you've never seen before!" They all smiled and nodded, and Michael took the elevator. He ascended high, very high. It was lucky he wasn't afraid of heights, or else this could lead to trouble for him. Nevertheless, when the elevator stopped, he came out into a waiting room, where he saw many other trainers waiting on the beginning of the tournament as well. They all looked at him when he entered, scoping out the newest competition. Most of them were older than him by a number of years, none of them younger than five years above him. One of them, a cooltrainer by the looks of her, scoffed and said

"I think you're in the wrong room; the daycare is downstairs." Everyone else smirked, and Michael crossed his arms, replying coolly

"Oh, I didn't realize this was the bitch's quarters, not the tournament waiting room." She flushed angrily but didn't retort but sat down in an angry huff. Michael walked over and sat down on a bench, and one of the participants, an old man, told him

"That was brave of you; she's needed to be put down for some time, but she's one of the stronger trainers here. She's one of the tournament leaders here." Michael looked at the girl, still fuming over his insult, and replied

"Then I guess I'll have to take her spot. She's not gonna beat me."

"Big words, but do you have anything to back that claim up? After all, you are still a child, even if looks can be deceiving." Michael smirked and retorted

"Then you better keep hold of your dentures; I'm gonna be flipping this whole tournament over." The old man regarded him for a moment, then smiled and replied

"I would like to see that. If you can genuinely defeat everyone here, I will tip my hat off to you." Michael smirked, and the cool, female voice interjected over the intercom.

"Will Jacque Wilson and Michael Ryuto please take their indicated field transporters, Jacque Wilson and Michael Ryuto, please take your transporters." Michael stood with a smirk, as did an Ace Trainer. Michael looked at his tag for a moment, seeing the color red. He smirked at the almost clear indication tying it to him, then walked over and took the transporting machine with the color red marked over it, while the other trainer, Jacque, took the other one, marked with yellow. Michael waited as he felt the machine move in various directions, until finally it went straight up for an indeterminate amount of time.

At last the machine slowed, coming to a full stop, at which point the doors opened, revealing a massive coliseum surrounded by curving benches which could seat thousands of people. Michael looked quickly around, but didn't have to look hard. Between his sister's bright blue hair, the professor's lab coat, and his mother's jacket, they were easy to spot. Jovi hopped up and waved frantically at him before Lily pulled her back down. Michael chuckled and walked forward confidently, his opponent doing the same. The announcer stated

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to today's tournament! We've got quite a show in store for you today, seeing as we've got a celebrity on the field!" Jacque looked confused for a moment, then paled as he seemed to recognize Michael. Nevertheless, he persisted, perhaps thinking to debunk the child celebrity. The first pokemon he tossed out were a Ninetales and Bellossom. In response, Michael tossed out Charlie and Mark.

"Aaannd… begin!" Jacque called out the first attack;

"Ninetales, Shadow Ball on Walrein! Bellossom, Sunny Day!" Michael retorted

"Charlie, Water Pulse on Ninetales, and Mark, hit Bellossom with Flamethrower!" They smirked and nodded, and before Bellossom could use its move, Charlie charged and fired a compressed ball of water that enveloped Ninetales, twisting its image before it exploded, causing massive damage but not managing to take it out or confuse it.

Bellossom's Sunny Day kicked in, then, and Ninetales stood, waving its tails around before bringing them together, creating a dark lump that it fired directly at Charlie, striking him in the face. He shook the hit off and pulled himself forward, and Mark made his move. He rushed forward, fire glowing on his fangs, before launching a torrent of fire at the pure Grass type. It struck her for massive damage, taking her down with the massive damage counting in account.

"And the first pokemon has gone down! Jacque is now reduced to three pokemon on his team, while Michael still has a full contingent of six! I think we can see how this will end, folks!" Jacque growled, muttering

"Don't count me out yet. Alright, go Sneasel!" The small, black Ice type came out, and Michael said

"Alright, Mark, retreat!"

"What's this, ladies and gentleman? Michael is pulling back his Fire type, despite the fact that it has a distinct advantage over Jacque's current team! What is he thinking?" Michael smirked and rolled his eyes, tossing out Martha instead.

"Alright, let's take care of two birds with one stone! Charlie, Water Pulse again! Martha, Sky Uppercut on Sneasel!"

"Ninetails and Sneasel, focus on that Breloom! Ninetales, Fire Blast! Sneasel, Icy Wind!" Michael raised an eyebrow, watching as Sneasel, with its superior speed fired off its attack first. It was a double attack, too, so it also hit Charlie. Given his double typing and ability, however, the damage was very much negligible. No, the real damage was the fact that Icy Wind was more of a status move than a true attack. It always lowered the opponent's speed, and while that was more detrimental on Charlie than Martha, if it was enough, Martha would be hard-pressed to fight effectively.

As it turned out, her speed was lowered enough for the Ninetales to attack before her, and unfortunately for Martha, the attack landed, dealing massive damage and leaving a burn. However, Michael was counting on her move being Sneasel's ultimate weakness, her advantage by typing correlation, and the fact he had placed a Black Belt on her before entering. In fact, each of his pokemon had an item to hold to boost some aspect of their power; Umbra was using the Blackglasses, Martha had the Black Belt, Mark was using a Charcoal, Clayton the TwistedSpoon, Charlie the Mystic Water, and finally Earnest Poison Barb.

Martha lunged forward, launching a punch that sent the Sneasel skyward. When it crashed landed, it was revealed to be knocked out. At the same time, Charlie's Water Pulse came crashing into Ninetales, and despite that Sunny Day was still in effect, it was enough to take it down. Martha's burn flared up, though, taking her down. Michael returned her, thanking her for her efforts. He watched as Jacque threw out his last pokemon, a Ledian. Michael smirked and tossed Mark back out.

"This is the final stretch, folks! Michael's Houndoom and Walrein against Jacque's Ledian! Can Jacque pull himself out of this mire?" Michael smirked and commanded

"Let's finish this up; Mark, Fire Blast! Charlie, Ice Beam!"

"Ledian, Comet Punch on Walrein!" The Bug type pokemon tried to fly toward Charlie, readying steel-colored fists, but was met in the face with Mark's Fire Blast. It reeled and rolled in the air, until Charlie's Ice Beam struck it directly, freezing it in midair and sending it to the ground, its eyes visibly swirled.

"And that's it, ladies and gentlemen! In a landslide victory, Michael Ryuto has climbed his way to the next level!" Michael heard the cheers of the people, but he especially heard his sister's cheering. He smiled and walked back to his transporter, heading to the room that would hold the next contenders. He watched the screen, waiting for the girl he'd argued with earlier to show up. His method would be to observe his competition and develop strategies to defeat them quickly. No one was going to doubt his power when this was all said and done.

Over the course of an hour, he watched as the remaining trainers were cut down to size, many of them close calls, and even a couple coming out to draws, which was really anybody's guess. At last, the girl came out, and her name, to his surprise, was Jacqueline. Was she related to Jacque, or was he just assuming things? She ran what seemed to be the team version of Jacque's pokemon, though; Houndoom, Vileplume, there wasn't really one for Sneasel so she ran a Mawile, and Ariados.

"This might be an interesting battle. Well, Mark and Charlie will be pretty instrumental again, and Martha will probably get another crack. Perhaps Clayton?" He ruminated as the others watched with what seemed to be vested interest. Though she was a bratty bitch, Michael couldn't deny that the girl knew how to battle, and apparently well, but still planned to win.

Things set about in a similar pace, with Michael winning all of his battles and the cheers getting louder every time he did. The same held true for Jacqueline, though, and it looked like it was going to come down to a final showdown between the two accomplished trainers.

Three hours into the tournament saw Michael and Jacqueline sitting in the Champion's room, waiting on their battle. Neither one of them spoke to each other, concentrating on their upcoming match, which the entire crowd was waiting to see. It was, for the most part, split between the two factions, cheering for either Michael or Jacqueline. It wasn't hard to imagine what side Michael's family took. At last the announcer declared

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's the moment you've all been waiting for! The two trainers we've watched dominate the tournament today, Michael Ryuto and Jacqueline Nunyez, come together for the final battle, perhaps one of the century! So, without further ado, let's bring them out!" Neither Michael nor Jacqueline needed further prompting, aiming for their own transporters. Before they went in, however, they looked at each other, and Michael told her

"Whatever happens, I think you're a strong trainer, and it will be an honor to battle you." It was as if the scene in the waiting room never happened, as she nodded, replying

"You're not half bad, yourself. Good luck." Michael nodded and walked into the transporter. After a brief moment, he and his opponent came out onto the field of battle, and the cheers became deafening, which was fine since Michael was focusing more on her methods. She had a tendency to switch her lineup if it was in her best interest, so he knew he couldn't hesitate to do so himself. In fact, that might be the method that assures his victory, but would only be able to tell in the actual field.

"This is it, folks! We will now witness the battle of a lifetime between two impressive trainers in our region of Orre! Battlers, take your positions and throw out your pokemon!" Jacqueline started off, tossing out her Mawile and Vileplume. Michael sent out Martha and Mark, which she was probably expecting, since she pulled the Vileplume back, using her own Houndoom. She started off;

"Houndoom, Flamethrower on Breloom! Mawile, Icy Wind!" Michael could tell she was aiming to lower their stats, so he quickly used a Guard Spec. on Martha, preventing her from losing her stats while she was in battle. Jacqueline frowned but didn't argue. The Icy Wind struck, and while the damage was negligible on Mark, it still took down his speed. Given its typically high count, however, it wasn't as detrimental as it would have been on a slower pokemon. Martha took considerably more damage but didn't lose any speed as a result.

"Alright, guys, counterattack! Mark, Flamethrower on Mawile! Martha, Sky Uppercut her Houndoom!" They nodded and rushed her pokemon, with her commanding

"Houndoom, Fire Blast that Breloom, and Mawile, Crunch on Houndoom!" Michael frowned, thinking

"_She must know better than that; Crunch is a Dark move, and Houndoom are Dark type. She must be going for the Defense-lowering effect." _The jaws came down on Mark, though they barely did anything, and nothing further happened, and by Jacqueline's irritated expression, Michael's assessment had been correct. She was forced to watch as her pokemon took massive damage, not enough to knock completely out, but they were woozy. Michael was surprised, knowing his pokemon were powerful. Hers had to be close to or equally powerful in order to survive such a strike as they had sustained.

"Alright, Houndoom, switch out!" Houndoom willingly returned, and in its stead sent out her Ariados. Michael frowned, thinking. He decided to stick with his current team, and called out

"Mark, Fire Blast on Ariados! Martha, Mach Punch on Mawile!"

"Crap! Alright, Mawile, Protect, and Ariados, Sludge Bomb Breloom!" Martha lunged for Mawile, but the green shield blocked the attack. Ariados lobbed a large blob of poison at Martha, just as it got struck with the Fire Blast, taking it down. Jacqueline watched apprehensively as the Poison move struck its target, managing to KO Martha, much to her pleasure and Michael's discontent.

"Dammit! Alright, Martha, retreat." He pulled her back, and she sent out her Houndoom again. Michael tossed up Charlie's ball, releasing him.

"Okay, Mark, Fire Blast Mawile! Charlie, Dive on Houndoom!" Jacqueline's eyes widened, shouting

"What?!" A blue glow surrounded Charlie, he created a glowing pool of water, and dived into it.

"Dammit! Houndoom, try to block the Fire Blast with Flamethrower! Mawile, Protect!" Mawile's move failed, however, and the Flamethrower couldn't put a dent in Mark's attack's speed. It struck Mawile full force, taking it down, and forcing Jacqueline to send out Vileplume. Charlie came up, seemingly from the steel floor, and slammed into Houndoom with prodigious damage.

"This is getting intense, folks! Jacqueline's down to two pokemon left, while Michael still has five! Can Jacqueline turn this around, or is it the end?!" Jacqueline growled, then commanded

"Houndoom, Crunch on Walrein, and Vileplume, Sludge Bomb on Houndoom!"

"Mark, evade that Sludge Bomb, then hit it with Flamethrower! Charlie, when the Houndoom gets close, nail it with Water Pulse!" They nodded and followed his instruction, Mark whipping around, loosing the extremely damaging move to torch Vileplume. Houndoom rushed Charlie, who waited until the last second and smacked Houndoom full-on in the face with the Water move. Both of Jacqueline's pokemon went down after their valiant efforts to stay conscious, and the announcer declared

"It's over! In a stunning win, Michael has debunked Jacqueline as Realgam Tower's top trainer! Let's hear it for Michael Ryuto!" Michael looked around, returning his pokemon, as the crowd went wild. Jacqueline walked up, offering her hand. Michael blinked in surprise but took it, and she congratulated

"Good job, kid. Looks like I was wrong about you, but I guess it makes sense give that you're the guy beating Cipher back. Keep it up, you hear?" Michael nodded, thanking her for a good, honest battle.

"That's it for today, ladies and gentlemen, but be sure to come back next week for another exciting tournament!" The crowd stood and began to file out of the stands, whereas Michael and Jacqueline took the elevator down back to the reception area. Michael went up to the receptionist, who told him

"Congratulations on your win! To commemorate your victory, here's your prize money." Michael pulled out his trainer's card and placed it against the machine to receive the payment, shocked when he earned sixteen thousand Poke. He blinked up at the receptionist, who took an orange-brown disc from under the desk, handed it over, and said

"This is also a reward for your victory. We hope to see you again!" Michael nodded and walked away from the desk, slipping the disc in his pocket to check later. He quickly was met up by his family and professor Krane, all congratulating him on his victory.

"That was awesome, big brother!"

"Quite a spectacular show."

"Your father would be proud." Michael smiled at all of them, then sighed tiredly, asking

"Can we go home? I've had a busy day." They all laughed, and Krane led them to the transport warehouse, while Jovi hung back with Michael, babbling nonstop about the coolest parts of his battles.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was a couple days before the end of Michael's brief vacation, and he was sitting on the roof of the research lab, looking out to the land before him. The sound of footsteps came to him, and at first he thought they were Jovi's, but they were too heavy, for even his mother. Turning back, he spotted Professor Krane walking up to him.

"Hello, Michael. Enjoying the sights?" Michael half grinned, turning back and replying

"It's relaxing, don't you think?" He chuckled, answering

"Your father thought much the same. You two are very much alike. But that's not the reason I was looking for you." Michael looked back, asking

"Then why are you looking for me?"

"I need you to come with me; I want to give you something." Michael smirked, arguing

"Haven't you already given me enough? After all, without the Snag Machine, none of this would have been possible." He nodded.

"Perhaps, but there is something else that may prove useful to you. It's something that pretty much goes with the Snag Machine, but can be used on its own." Michael's curiosity was piqued, and he rose, responding

"Alright. Where is it?" Krane just turned and walked, Michael following. He wanted to persist in asking, but he figured if he wouldn't answer the first time, there was no way he'd do it with other people nearby. Krane led him through the research lab, until finally they came out on the first floor, the main room. Krane continued into the lab where the Snag Machine was stored, and he walked over to a wall, flipping open a hidden latch and pushing a secret button.

Michael heard a series of whirs and clicks, and a panel on the floor slid back, opening a set of stairs that led into what Michael first assumed was a basement, but quickly had his doubts. Krane continued to lead him without a word, and Michael followed, but reluctantly. After a long, dimly lit hallway, they came out to a small room with old light bulbs that still worked. Michael took a couple seconds to look around, but at last Krane spoke, catching his attention.

"Now, this is a secret room I had built, where I store backup data just in case something happens. No one else knows that this place exists, and I would prefer to keep it that way." Michael nodded, acknowledging his wish. He turned and began to sort through everything, searching for something as he continued to speak.

"So, to get to the matter at hand. You mentioned an unpurifiable pokemon, yes?" Michael nodded, even  
though he couldn't see it, but Krane plowed on regardless.

"Then it follows that this is an extraordinarily powerful pokemon, and you can't take your chances with it. Each pokeball you have handled before will have its ups, downs, strengths, and weaknesses. There is only one pokeball which, to date, has no weaknesses, a guaranteed catch, no matter what the pokemon is." Michael's eyes widened, and he asked quickly

"Well, where is it? And where can I get a batch of them?"

"I'm afraid it is not so simple. You see, it takes an amazing amount of resources, considering its size is no different than that of a regular pokeball. Its production must also be limited, because this item would be more coveted than even the Amulet Coin and Exp. Share combined."

"I can imagine."

"Indeed. However, your need is pressing, and if you are to successfully capture this shadow pokemon, you must have the best tools. Now, keep in mind that this items is still in its testing stages, has not been perfected yet. It won't fail to catch the pokemon, but beyond that there's really no telling what could happen. Given the risks, though, I believe it is acceptable to use it." At last, he brought out a small package, covered with dust, which he blew off. He handed it over to Michael, who opened it up and reached inside, grasping a ball-shaped item.

Pulling his hand back out and setting it palm-up, he scrutinized a pokeball the likes of which he had never seen before; it had the classic white bottom portion and button, but the top half was a shade of purple, with two pink rubber spots on either side, at a sort of tilt. There was also a pink "M" on the front, just above the button. He looked up at the professor, who explained

"That is called the Master Ball. Like I said before, it will catch any one pokemon without fail. However, there is only this one in the entirety of Orre, so don't waste it." Michael nodded and shrunk it, then placed it carefully within his bag. He looked back up at the professor, but he was walking past, saying

"I'm sure Lily will be wondering where we are at this point, so we should be on our way. Just remember everything I told you." Michael nodded, then followed out, excited and dreading at the same time to continue his journey.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Michael's vacation time was up now, , he knew it, and while he didn't want it to end, he knew he had to get back to dealing with Cipher, since allowing them too much time would allow them to recover, which he didn't want. Lily, Krane, and Jovi all stood outside with him, seeing him off. As they each hugged him, they had something to say. Krane went first, telling him

"I got an email from Makan, saying he had something you might like to see. So go ahead and talk with him first." Michael nodded, then moved onto his mother, who told him tearfully

"Be careful, please. I don't want to lose you." Michael smiled and told her confidently

"Don't worry, Mom, I'll take care of them and be back before ya know it!" She smiled sadly, reminded once again of her deceased husband. Nevertheless, she was proud of him. Finally, Jovi hugged her brother, who knelt down to hug her back.

"You make sure you come back to Jovi, big brother, you hear?" Michael grinned and replied

"I will, little sister. One way or another, I'm coming back."

"Good. Now go get 'em!" He chuckled, then stood and walked to his scooter, kicked it to life, then took off, waving behind him. He sighed, having enjoyed the relaxation, but focused on returning his mindset to that of fighting criminals.

When he arrived in Gateon Port, he looked around, not much looking different. He walked forward, then spotted a deeper shade of blue somewhere near the docks. He walked over to it, peering over and spotting what he thought was the Robo Kyogre that Kaminko had been working on before scrapping it, only to be taken in by Makan. The most remarkable part, undoubtedly, was the fact that the robotic pokemon was, well, finished! He spent an inordinate amount of time looking it over, until suddenly he noticed someone standing next to him, which turned out to be Makan.

"Beautiful, isn't it? And far more simplistic than it looks. She's quite the marvel." Michael nodded automatically, then shook his head, saying

"The professor told me you sent an email, saying you had something to show me?" The old man chuckled, replying

"This very machine you were staring at, actually! I heard you had a dilemma, mostly concerning a certain Citadark Isle, which is currently surrounded by vicious waves that are impossible for any normal craft to safely sail through. I figured I could make good on one of Kaminko's inventions and improved on the design of the Robo Kyogre. Now it can cut through those waves like they were paper." Michael's eyes widened appreciatively, and he asked

"Can I use this?" Makan chuckled, replying

"It's yours now, boy! You've got a much bigger claim to this than I do."

"Perhaps, but I won't forget that without you, it would not be possible to traverse those dangerous waters." Makan nodded, responding

"Thank you for your kind words. Now, do you have all the supplies you need before taking off? I expect as soon as you learn you'll be right off." Michael nodded to the questions, actual and rhetorical, and Makan told him

"Alright, then let's begin. The controls are actually quite simple to work with, so let's start you off with boarding. You'll need these." He handed over a set of keys, strangely shaped, with a small thing of faux fur the same shade as the Robo Kyogre. Michael took it and pressed on the wireless unlock button. Immediately, the hatch, which looked somewhat like a pilot's cockpit, opened up. He walked forward, placing a foot tentatively onto it. However, it was incredibly well balanced and didn't even tip over.

After a short while of trying carefully not to fall into the water, he managed to step inside the rather roomy hatch. There was plenty of room for his pack, two in actuality; he would have to stock further on his supplies, which wouldn't be hard considering the amount of money he had. Once he seated himself comfortably, Makan walked over and began to explain

"Now, there is a slot for the key, but you won't turn it. Once you stick it in, you'll press the power button there, an anti-theft measure. Looking closely, the controls resemble that of a child's racecar, except the steering mechanism is done with two levers. Push both forward to move forward, and pull one back to go in the opposite direction you want to travel." Michael looked up in confusion, and Makan quickly continued.

"Alright, grab the steering levers." Michael did so, finding them comfortable.

"Now, practice moving forward, though you won't actually go anywhere. Just push them forward." He did, and though it was a little hard, it wasn't beyond his limits.

"The farther forward you push, the faster you'll go. It's pretty much a straight shot to Citadark, but learning how to steer will do you good. Pull all the way back to reverse, but be warned; you can only go so far, since the majority of seafaring craft don't do that." Michael nodded, waiting for him to finish his instructions.

"Now, for steering. Pull all the way back on the left lever, while pushing the right lever all the way up." Michael complied, and Makan told him

"You just turned left. And to turn right, pull all the way back on the right lever, pushing the left all the way forward. Turning on a dime in the water isn't really an easy task, and given how this craft is shaped, I don't suggest doing it while going eighty." Michael nodded, appreciating the advice.

"So, go ahead and get some practice for it, bring her back when you finish, and ask any questions you may have." Michael nodded one last time, then reached up and pulled the glass hatch cover down, locking it with a watertight seal. He stuck the key into its slot and hit the power button. Immediately the thing purred to life, and Michael couldn't help smiling. He pressed on the gas, which allowed him to move forward, and pushed lightly on the levers to move forward. He felt a slight jump as the craft began to move forward, and he carefully steered to avoid crashing into the rotating pillars of the over-water bridges. Once there was enough room, the arms/wings of the craft hissed and splayed out, offering balance as the craft moved with speed. Each had a rotating piece, the function of which he wasn't sure. Finally, he pushed forward on the levers, moving forward, faster, but not enough to really get a thrill. He attempted turning and finding it quite easy.

Sporting a wide and devious grin on his face, he gunned the engines, hearing them roar and blasting forward. He whooped loudly as he jolted forward, skimming over the water but never leaving it. He noticed that the spinning pieces on the wings spun faster as he went faster, and he figured they had something to do with it. Then he proceeded to ignore that and enjoy the ride. After a while, he decided to bring it back in and work on those extra supplies so he could extend his stay and deal more damage to Cipher. It took a while to maneuver, but he managed to bring it back into dock, where Makan was waiting.

"So, any questions?" Michael nodded and gestured to the wings of the craft, asking

"What are those rotating pieces for?"

"Well, this thing works on a propulsion system, so the rotators take in air and water, super compresses them, and uses that to shoot the craft forward. The battery is also designed to be able to handle that for a good long time before recharging or replacing, depending how negligent you are." Michael nodded his understanding, clambered out, and said

"I'll need to get some further supplies; it has a lot more room than I imagined, so I can extend my trip and take further care of the problem before making a return trip to restock." Makan nodded, telling him

"Well, the Robo Kyogre is yours now, and you can always call on me if something happens to it." Michael nodded, voicing his appreciation. They shook hands and went their separate ways, Makan heading to his shop, Michael to the store.

**Citadark Isle**

Michael pulled up to the second dock, no doubt for the PEONS, and looked forward, where he saw Mr. Verich's, or rather, Greevil's, fancy yacht. Michael's face twisted with disgust, not able to believe he had been so fooled by Greevil's disguise as a rich old man as opposed to his role as leader of Cipher. Growling, he continued on his way, cresting the dock and looking.

He saw a large, blackened island with dead, crunchy ground. There were channels of lava flowing slowly until they went into the water, roiling around before finally becoming solid. Looking quickly, he spotted metallic structures, and he recognized it all from the nightmare he had back in Phenac City. He whirled around, expecting to see the sharp, purple bird come swooping down on him at any moment. However, no such thing came for him, and he relaxed.

"It was all just a nightmare. That's not gonna happen. It's not gonna happen." He repeated that to himself until he believed it, then walked forward, delving into the base of the worst team in Orre's history, possibly the world.

**I'm just gonna leave off there for now, but don't worry, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! But in the meantime, send me some reviews, please!**


	7. Ch 7: Citadark Isle

**And so the adventure continues, with Michael taking his first steps on Citadark Isle.**

Michael looked around, still quite nervous, and for damn good reason, too! He had developed an intense fear of the shadow pokemon, with their ability to strip happiness and sanity away from him with nothing more than a strike to his person. Sometimes that wasn't even necessary; if any of their shadow energy struck him, he'd be lost in pits of despair and anger. But he forged on, knowing his father would never have given up, and wanted to make him proud, regardless of whether or not he saw him.

Moreover, he could never condemn anyone else to the horrors he had seen throughout this perilous journey. But still, he had to wonder... His family had been cursed, from the very beginning, he was told. But exactly who or what was never divulged to him. Perhaps his father hadn't known.

But back to the matter at hand; Michael was cursed, he knew it. What he didn't know, though, was the contents of his curse. What exactly would it be that killed him off before he had the chance to turn fifty? The curse never repeated itself, strangely, so it had to be something related to the time he lived in.

But now he was getting completely off track; what was he doing, thinking about his curse at a time like this, in the midst of his worst enemies?! This distraction, however, led to one of the inhabitants of the island to come up to him, challenging him to battle. Michael quickly looked, discerning a Navigator, perhaps of Greevil's yacht. They battled, though Michael mopped the floor quickly with him (an odd metaphor, given that the loser was a sailor himself). He snagged a Shadow Golduck and Sableye.

Moving on, he crossed the bridges over the lava, feeling the intense heat, far worse than anything the desert had to offer. Michael couldn't help but pause at the sight of the slow-moving liquid, wondering. Once he managed to pull his head out of the clouds, he crossed the bridge completely and looked around. On the other side, it was much easier to see, and he spotted a massive hole in the rock structure, like the opening to the beast's maw, which was probably an accurate description.

Beyond that, he spotted an elevator, and peeing up he saw that it ascended all the way to the top, most likely where the boss, Greevil, would be. Grinning, he walked over to it, passing another bridge and beating another PEON to get to it. He smirked as he made to push the button to bring the elevator down, but quickly realized there wasn't a button. Instead, there was a slot for what he remembered the shape to be an elevator key.

Michael cursed and struck the glass of the elevator, but it didn't help. Knowing he was out of options, he winged his way back to the main part of the island, looking upon the entrance to the Cipher Headquarters. He had no choice but to take this entrance, but he wanted to avoid this as much as possible.

For some reason, unbidden, his hand drifted up and pressed the button on his Aura Reader, displaying the Shadow Monitor. He saw for himself all the shadow pokemon he had yet to snag, and he knew that unless he took care of it himself, they would never be free, always cursed to live in pain and misery. Bracing himself with these thoughts, he walked inside.

The scene became vastly different from what he was initially expecting; where he was thinking he'd see carved rock, he saw fitted steel plates instead, everything was covered in metal. Various pipes ran multitudes of substances throughout the spacious area, which was divided into various rooms that served no apparent purpose. Visible to him was a healing machine and PC, which he was grateful for; they would come in very handy.

He wound his way through the small rooms, fighting a variety of trainers, snagging a Shadow Dodrio and Raticate in the process. He continued on until he rounded a corner and spotted an elevator, though he had his suspicions that it didn't reach the top. Nevertheless, he walked toward it and was about to push the button, but it came down mysteriously on its own. Michael backed away, thinking a PEON was going to pop out and challenge him. What he saw was far worse.

The more immediate and damning evidence was the fact that the uniform was very different, fitted for a slim feminine figure. Secondly, the ridiculously long hair, a garish shade of pink. The Cipher Admin Lovrina walked out of the elevator, still swaying her hips, and Michael's eyes narrowed in hate as he hissed

"You!" Her smirk was icy cold as she replied

"That's right, sweetie. I got into a lot of trouble because of you, and everyone else was so miserable thanks to you and your heroism." Michael's hands clenched into fists as she spoke, but thankfully she wasn't trying to be seductive toward him.

"So, I'm guessing you're here to exact your revenge and restore your pride?" She smirked again, answering

"That, and to brag. Thanks to me, despite your meddling, our Project XD001 came to full completion. Master Greevil was very happy about that, so I managed to redeem myself in that regard. And now it's going to come full circle when I defeat you and take all your precious pokemon to taint them." Michael's scowl transformed to his battle face as he replied

"Dream on, bitch. I'll thrash you like I did last time and snag whatever shadow pokemon you're packing."

"Then let's rumble." They both threw out their choices simultaneously, Lovrina sending Gardevoir and Gorebyss, while Michael tossed out Mark and Clayton. Lovrina took the first call;

"Gardevoir, Gorebyss, Attract!" Michael scowled and countered

"Clayton, Thunderbolt on Gorebyss, and Mark, Crunch Gardevoir!" They nodded and charged their various attacks, Mark rushing forward. Unluckily, Gorebyss struck at Mark, while Gardevoir's had no effect on Clayton, since it was genderless. Mark hesitated, barely able to take his eyes off Gorebyss, at least until Clayton's Thunderbolt reduced her to a twitching, slightly smoking fish, which wasn't very attractive anymore.

Mark finished the move, slamming down onto Gardevoir and finishing her off with one blow and a critical hit. Lovrina pulled her Gardevoir back, sending Roselia in its place. Gorebyss managed to hold on, barely, and Lovrina commanded

"Roselia, Toxic on Houndoom! Gorebyss, Water Pulse Houndoom!"

"Clayton, Thunderbolt again, and Mark, Fire Blast on Roselia!" Gorebyss' speed won out, striking Mark with the Water Pulse and managed to confuse him. Michael growled and awaited the verdict, which turned out to be Mark hurting himself in trying to attack. He cursed and whipped open his pack, searching quickly before he found what he was looking for, a small, yellow glass flute with a special tune. Clayton finished off the Gorebyss and Roselia badly poisoned Mark. Michael hesitated, the flute nearly at his lips to play, thinking about his options. After a moment, he caved, placing the small flute in his pocket instead and taking out a Full Heal, using it on Mark as he commanded

"Clayton, Psychic!" The Claydol assaulted the tiny poison plant with the move, and it went down fairly easily. Lovrina smirked and pulled out two pokeballs simultaneously and released the pokemon inside, revealing two new shadow pokemon, an Altaria and Farfetch'd. Michael looked between the two, thinking hard, then made his decision, telling them

"Mark, Crunch Farfetch'd! Clayton, use Rock Slide on Altaria!"

"Altaria, Shadow Blitz on Claydol, and Farfetch'd, Shadow Wave!" Michael's pokemon 's speed won out, then glowing rocks coming down on Altaria and making it flinch, saving Clayton from a very damaging move. Mark's Crunch came down as well, and while it didn't have the power to make it flinch, it still did decent damage. It sank down to just above the critical zone, and Michael decided to risk it. He looked at the health of the Altaria, determining it could come further down, and knowing its weaknesses and resistances, he called out

"Mark, use Flamethrower on Altaria!" He charged an Ultra Snag Ball and tossed it, scooping up the smaller of the two birds, and after a few shaky seconds it clicked, making him sigh in relief while Lovrina scowled. Mark's attack struck, doing little damage, which was Michael's aim. The Altaria struck at Mark then, taking him down and out, and Michael threw out Umbra in response. Finally, he set about trying to capture Altaria, but it proved more difficult than he originally imagined.

As it turned out, the dragon bird was strong-willed and seemed to refuse being captured, even after Michael paralyzed it with Umbra's Thunder Wave. He lost Umbra, Clayton, and Martha to it before it finally captured, much to his relief. Lovrina, however, screeched in anger and stomped her foot, devolving into a temper tantrum.

"Dammit! All my hard work, gone to waste! Greevil will never forgive me, and it's all your fault!" She breathed heavily, perhaps ruminating what to do. After a moment, she settled on giving him the bird and running off. Michael scoffed

"What a sore loser and crybaby." Shaking his head, he went back to the front, where he used the healing machine and PC to rearrange the new shadow pokemon into the Purify Chamber. Once he finished doing that, he set back out, taking the elevator down. There he saw what appeared to be a massive fan/turbine of sorts, spinning slowly in what he realized was sea water. Was this the method used to create the dangerous waves that surrounded Citadark Isle?

He ran forward, checking with the various people, mostly scientists, but miraculously didn't have to fight any of them. He confirmed that this indeed was the room where the whirlpools were created and keep local authorities at bay. Altogether, he only battled two PEONS, one of which possessed a Shadow Kangaskhan and Banette. Feeling some relief, he continued on, taking another elevator down, which took him to the inside of a volcano, or something similar. He looked out, seeing chambers and pools of either magma or lava (he couldn't tell the difference, it was still liquid fire!) between small islands.

Looking further on, he realized that some of the paths he needed to take were blocked off by the molten substance, and he tried to think of a solution, leaning against a large white metal block as he did. Without warning, it moved, Michael flailing to regain his balance. He looked at the block and tapped it with a knuckle, discovering that it was very strong but also hollow. It was also ice cold to the touch, and Michael was struck with inspiration.

Looking over, he realized he might be able to block off a portion of the lava if the block was placed into the squared slot just below him. He got behind the block and began to push, surprised by how light it was. After a few seconds, it tipped over the edge, and Michael looked anxiously as it slammed into the ground, then slowly slid in. Perhaps it changed from light to dense at a sudden change of temperature? Whatever the case, it slid down and completely blocked off the magma/lava flow, and the rest already within the small pool seemed to either disperse into smaller chambers or cool and harden quickly, opening a new path for him.

Michael jumped victoriously, then ran down the slope and out into the path, running up on another island, where he began to take on the various trainers, namely a PEON who had a Shadow Magmar and Pinsir. Once he finished there, he walked further down, finding his path impeded again by the lava. He looked quickly around, finding another block. He rushed to it and pushed it in, but found that it didn't stop the flow. He frowned and looked around, then found another block, close to where he started.

"How did I miss that one?" He cursed lightly, then ran all the way back to it and pushed it in as well, and the magma sank away in clearly visible chambers, larger than the ones previously, but still got the job done, which was all he cared about. He walked back down and crossed over the new bridge, entering a room where he saw something he could only describe as a lavafall. It was a waterfall, but made of lava. Michael blinked at the sight, then shook his head and pressed on, finding another healing machine and PC, to his delight. However, he had to take on another PEON, but she didn't have any shadow pokemon on her.

After he healed his pokemon up, he continued on his way, spotting another chamber in the volcano, this one filled with trainers in the much cooler atmosphere, though it was still stiflingly hot. He sighed resignedly and pressed on, finding only three PEONS, with only one possessing shadow pokemon, a Shadow Rapidash and Magcargo. He took the entrance to the next level, and to his surprise he received an email. From the lab? Something important come up? When he checked it, however, it proved to be from Eagun, and was a haiku nonetheless!

Michael facepalmed, thinking it was a nice gesture, but the timing was really bad on his part. Nevertheless, he didn't let it deter him, choosing to continue on. He spotted a couple paths, one with dropped items, the other leading to enemies, no doubt. He decided to pick up the items first, which proved to be a couple Full Restores, to his delight. Taking the other path, he found what appeared to be another elevator, with a couple PEON guards, one with a Shadow Hitmonchan, while the other had Shadow Hitmonlee.

He beat them and cleared the path, then took the elevator up, where he beat some more PEONS and continued merrily, more or less, on his way. Stepping out into the next room, it was a very spacious cavern, with floating platforms to transport riders. Michael took them with trepidation, hoping to whatever higher power existed for his safety. He managed to get across, taking on more of the PEONS along the way, though none with shadow pokemon thus far, much to his relief. He checked the Shadow Monitor, realizing he put a dent in the number of still available shadow pokemon, but not a particularly big one. He continued on.

He came out into a room very reminiscent of the underground lair of Dr. Kaminko, filled with variously colored cranes, each leading to somewhere different in the room. He looked around, then discerned the path to the other side of the room, where he needed to keep going. He never really liked this method of transportation, though, as it severely compromised his chances of survival. Ignoring his trepidation, however, he moved forward and pressed the button for the first crane to descend. After ten tense minutes, he was on the other side, where he took a moment to recompose himself.

Once he felt his legs stop shaking, he stood again and kept moving, finding another elevator, which he took, and found a new room with a mostly solid steel floor, though there were some holes, which seemed to be filled in with a light blue force field. Figuring it was safe, he tried walking across one, but was completely surprised when it disappeared underneath him, and he couldn't help but scream as he fell. He managed to slam into the floor beneath him, the crane room, without breaking anything. He lay there, his heart pounding away, perhaps to compensate for what he believed was the few remaining seconds of his life.

Once he managed to calm down, which admittedly took a while, he stood shakily and wormed his way back to the force-field-floor room, where he walked through, edging around the force fields religiously. He took on a couple people within the room, snagging a Shadow Lickitung, Scyther, and Chansey along the way. By this time, he was feeling worn out from the day, and he imagined his pokemon were in even worse shape than him. Resolving to continue later, he traced his steps back throughout, healing the pokemon in one of the machines along the way, until he came outside, realizing to his surprise that it was the middle of the night. However, he refused to sleep inside their base, where he could just as easily be assassinated. He went back to the Robo Kyogre, where he lay to rest and recover.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, he went straight back to work, worming through the insidious lair again until he reached the level he had left off on. It went much faster since he wasn't fighting anybody on the way. He took an elevator that led him to what he realized was the top of the outcropping. He cheered as he realized this entire mad venture was nearly finished, but tempered his elation, knowing it would be much harder from here on out.

He looked further on, seeing the large metal, ball-shaped structure, which was much larger up close. He figured that was where Greevil had to be, so he set out for the bridge which would lead him to it, but sudden whirring stopped him, and looking over he saw that the elevator he couldn't take before was bringing someone up. He tensed as a familiar, garish hairstyle, coupled with a pale, doughy complexion came into his line of sight, and Snattle walked out.

"Well, well, we meet again. My plans were ruined because of you." Michael grinned and crossed his arms, replying snidely

"I'm getting a lot of that as I go on. Believe me, it's my distinct pleasure to put you bastards in your place." Snattle scoffed and ranted

"My plans were perfect, until you and the other Admins interfered. But no matter. Perhaps I can redeem myself and still become Orre's governor if I defeat you." Michael scowled and pulled up two pokeballs, challenging

"Why don't we test that and find out for ourselves?" Snattle "humph"ed and tossed out his pokemon, a Metang and Quagsire, and Michael summoned Martha and Mark.

"I'll begin. Metang, Metal Claw on that Breloom, and Quagsire, Mud Shot on Houndoom!" Michael countered

"Mark, Fire Blast Metang! Martha, Giga Drain Quagsire!" They both charged their respective special attacks, and because were higher in level, had better speed. They attacked first, and Snattle's pokemon went down rather easily. Michael smirked as Snattle cursed, then threw out a Scizor and Solrock, which the Aura Reader quickly identified as a shadow pokemon. Michael scowled and commended

"Mark, Flamethrower on Scizor! Martha, Sky Uppercut on Solrock!"

"Scizor, Bullet Punch Breloom! Solrock, Shadow Wave!" Mark torched the Bug type, ending that battle quickly, and Martha struck the Solrock before her and her teammate took damage from the low-level shadow attack. Snattle threw out Castform in place of Scizor, and Michael muttered

"Crap, I see where this is going." Reaching forward, he said

"Mark, Ember on Solrock; we want minimal damage at the moment. Martha, get in a Sky Uppercut on Castform." Snattle commanded

"Solrock, Shadow Sky, and Castform, Weather Ball afterward." Michael watched apprehensively as Martha struck Castform, but its defenses allowed it to hold on. Mark's move was very minimally damaging, as he expected, but also left a burn, which added urgency to snagging it at the right time before it fainted. The shadow energy filled the sky and rained down on them, and Castform's attack came down with it. Michael growled, then commanded

"Alright, let's finish this; Martha, Mach Punch Castform. Mark, take a breather." He charged up an Ultra Snag Ball and tossed it just as Martha took down the weather pokemon. The Snag Ball shook around a few times, with everybody holding their breaths and waiting on the verdict. After it clicked, Snattle cursed while Michael and his pokemon sighed in relief. Michael took the ball, sending it to the PC, then looked at Snattle and asked

"Is that it for you?" He scoffed, replying

"You wish." He tossed out one more pokemon, a shadow Starmie, and Michael said

"Alright, let's finish this, here and now. Mark, Bite, and Martha, Headbutt."

"Starmie, Shadow Rave!" Michael cursed to himself, watching as the starfish-like pokemon took the damage, though not enough for him to be confident in snagging it yet, and his pokemon became confused.

"Let's see how far we can push our luck; Mark, Ember, and Martha, Headbutt."

"Starmie, Shadow Blitz!" Mark wound up hurting himself, but Martha's attack landed, and Starmie targeted her in return. Michael set up the Snag Machine, this time throwing a Net Snag Ball, managing to catch the Water type, much to his relief. Snattle cursed strongly and loudly then, shouting

"You damn brat! You've ruined everything, once again!" Michael rolled his eyes, telling him

"What does it matter? You'd have been a terrible governor, and no one would have liked you anyway." Snattle cursed once more, then ran off. Something slipped out of his coat pocket, though, and Michael went to retrieve it, finding an elevator key. His spirits lifted as he knew he could finally take the elevator, which was good because his pokemon needed some healing. He ran over to the elevator and took it down, then ran into the entrance to the base, using the healing machine and PC again. After finishing his business there, he took the elevator back up and headed for the bridge. At the end, someone stepped out from the entrance to the large, ball-shaped structure, and Michael recognized the man who defeated Zook his first time visiting Gateon Port, one of Greevil's bodyguards. He approached, smirking, and asked

"Do you remember me? Back in Gateon Port?" Michael slowly nodded, and the blue-haired man continued

"I wasn't really helping you, you know; I was teaching that pathetic thug a lesson about showing off his shadow pokemon in full public view. We didn't want to broadcast, not then. But it is of little consequence now, as XD001 is complete and there's nothing you can do to stop us." Michael's hands clenched into fists, and he argued

"Don't count on it; I can still take you all down, and that's what I intend to do." The man scoffed, replying

"Very well, then let's test your claim. My name is Ardos; I am the sub-boss of Cipher, behind only Master Greevil. I will gladly battle you." Michael's face was deadly and set, and the two battlers threw out their combatants. Ardos threw out a Shadow Swellow and Alakazam, Michael using Clayton and Mark in retaliation. Ardos commented

"I've heard a lot about your strength; I hope you won't be a disappointment." Michael responded

"Clayton, Psychic on Swellow, and Mark, Crunch Alakazam!"

"Swellow, Shadow Half! Alakazam, Kinesis on Houndoom!" Michael blinked, unsure about the move he'd called out. Swellow flapped its wings for a brief moment, then shrieked at the sky, sending out purple and bright orange lines. Michael watched in horror as they struck all pokemon present, including itself, and halved all their HP. Alakazam's speed beat out Mark's as well, and as it turned out, Kinesis was a moved that lowered an opponent's accuracy.

Mark was veritably cross-eyed, but by sheer luck his attack landed, taking Alakazam out. Clayton's Psychic struck, and Michael panicked that it would be taken out, but the Swellow had incredible defenses, so it stopped in the red, barely hanging on. Michael sighed in relief, then quickly set up an Ultra Snag Ball, snagging the Swellow before Ardos could switch it out or heal it, or even use another attack. Ardos next sent out a Kingdra and Heracross, and Michael pulled Clayton back, healed Mark, and threw out Martha in Clayton's place.

"Kingdra, Rain Dance; Heracross, Megahorn on Breloom!" Michael countered

"Mark, Fire Blast Heracross! Martha, Sky Uppercut Kingdra!" His pokemon nodded at him and moved to attack. Kingdra's own speed was insane, so the weather quickly changed, which displeased Michael in more ways than one. Luckily, in a way, Mark's speed won out over Heracross, but the pouring rain weakened the Fire attack to the point that it didn't take out the Bug/Fighting type. He watched as Martha and Heracross battled for speed, and Martha's attack on Kingdra connected, dealing decent damage, before Heracross crashed horn-first into her side, sending her skidding back.

"Kingdra, Hydro Pump Houndoom! Heracross, Megahorn again!" Michael cursed and commanded

"Mark, retreat! Martha, Sky Uppercut again!" Mark was pulled back, Charlie sent in his place. Kingdra's attack, while strong, did little damage against its own type, and Martha took it down, before being taken down herself by Heracross, who was quickly dispatched with a Water Pulse. Ardos pulled back his fainted pokemon, as did Michael, and Ardos smirked, tossing out an Electabuzz and Snorlax, both of which proved to be shadow pokemon. Michael cursed again and pulled Charlie back, bringing out Mark again, and after a moment of thinking, threw out Clayton as well.

"Alright, let's focus our efforts on one of them first, snag it, and move on to the next. Mark, Flamethrower on Electabuzz, and Clayton, Rock slide after!" Ardos commanded, with the air of dispassionate closing

"Electabuzz, Shadow Half, and Snorlax, Shadow End." Michael recognized Shadow Half, but that last one was foreign to him. Electabuzz went first, halving the HP of all pokemon present, and since Mark was already damaged, it was more detrimental. Then Snorlax, currently laying on its back, rose up, surrounded by a menacing shadow aura, and jumped bodily, landing on Mark and taking him down completely. Michael watched as Snorlax was struck by a horrible recoil, taking its HP even further down, by half again. Michael frowned, thinking he might be able to snag it with any luck. He returned Mark, sending out Earnest. Clayton's attack struck Electabuzz, its health going down to red, much to Michael's relief; he was worried he was going to take it out. He looked for a moment, then said

"Alright, stand down for a moment, guys." He healed Clayton, repairing the damage from Shadow Half, then used Earnest's turn to try and Snag Shadow Electabuzz. The Ultra Snag Ball held, capturing it successfully, Michael breathing a sigh of relief as a result. Then he focused as Ardos commanded

"Snorlax, Shadow End!" Michael frowned now, thinking

"_He's going to spam that until I go down, not caring if he loses as a result." _ Michael watched as the Snorlax came crashing down onto Earnest, surprising Michael when the attack completely knocked him out. Snorlax took the recoil damage, at an all-time low now, and Michael quickly threw out Charlie to compensate the loss of another team member. He focused, however, on using a Revive to pull back one of his pokemon, and trying to snag the Snorlax. However, the first attempt failed, and cost him Clayton in the process.

The second try was also unsuccessful, which resulted in Charlie's defeat. By this time, Michael was frantic; he had nearly lost his entire team, despite using Revives and trying to snag it so it couldn't attack anymore. The ball wouldn't stick, and for a moment, Michael considered using the Master Ball. However, he held back from it, knowing its purpose was different than this common pokemon. He growled to himself, setting up another snag ball. He threw it, and after several tense seconds, the ball clicked, ending the battle and capturing Shadow Snorlax at long last. Michael sighed in relief as he sent it to the PC, Ardos remarking

"So, your strength wasn't exaggerated; it takes a lot to beat me. My only regret was not spotting you as a danger before and disposing of you then. But Master Greevil will deal with you." He walked off, leaving the door to the large ball open. Michael hesitantly approached, then snuck in. He spotted another healing machine and PC, and Michael dove for them, but he wasn't attacked. He restored his team to their prime, then continued, spotting the other bodyguard, the red-haired one, and Greevil, sitting in a chair that levitated. Greevil seemed genuinely surprised to see him, asking

"So, you were capable of defeating Ardos? I must say, you've come much farther than I ever believed you capable of. I haven't felt this kind of excitement in many years! I must confess I enjoy strength in fighters, but I can't have you interfering. Therefore-" He pushed a button on his chair, and a glass wall rose out of a hidden slot very suddenly, before Michael could react. He slammed his steel-covered fist into it, but did nothing more than create a clinking sound. Michael cursed, then ran outside, angling toward the elevator nearby. However, a bulky figure rose in it and walked out, and Michael recognized Gorigan. Despite having defeated him before, the beast-like man still scared him.

"I remember you, brat. I've seen you around a lot, actually. Still, I've gotta beat you so I can be redeemed to Master Greevil." Michael's stance became more solid, and he drew up two of his pokeballs, he doing the same. He tossed out Slowking and Ursaring, and Michael responded with Earnest and Martha.

"Slowking, Flamethrower on Ursaring! Ursaring, Slash Breloom!"

"Martha, Sky Uppercut Ursaring, and Earnest, Signal Beam Slowking!" Michael's strength was immediately obvious by the fact that Gorigan's first two pokemon went down rather easily, taking both of them by surprise. Gorigan growled, then shouted

"You won't get the best of me, brat!" Next he sent out Aggron and Walrein, and Michael switched Earnest out for Clayton, commanding

"Martha, Sky Uppercut on Aggron, and Clayton, Thunderbolt on Walrein!"

"Aggron, Earthquake! Walrein, Protect!" The walrus pokemon erected a green shield, and the Earthquake shook up the ground they were standing on, damaging Martha very little and doing nothing to the levitating Claydol. Martha took down the Aggron, and Gorigan sent out Poliwrath, which Michael's Aura Reader labeled as a shadow pokemon. He growled, then commanded

"Clayton, Thunderbolt on Slowking; Martha, Headbutt Poliwrath!"

"Slowking, Psychic on Breloom, and Poliwrath, Shadow Storm!" Martha lunged forward, striking Poliwrath with her mushroom-capped head, making it flinch, much to Michael's team's relief. Clayton's move struck Slowking but didn't manage to completely down it. The Psychic struck Martha and sent her to the ground, but she managed to stand back up. Michael growled to himself, then told them

"Clayton, Rock Slide on Poliwrath! Martha, repair your health with Giga Drain, aiming for Slowking!" She nodded and complied, finishing it off and reducing Gorigan's team by another pokemon. He threw out a Shadow Mr. Mime as a result, and Michael knew he was in for a bad time.

"Okay, we just need a bit more leverage. Martha, Sky Uppercut on Mr. Mime, and Clayton, Rock Slide again!" Gorigan commanded

"Both of ya, Shadow Storm!" Michael gulped nervously, hoping the damage wouldn't be too severe. Martha struck Mr. Mime and reduced its health, though not as much as he had hoped for. Poliwrath was about ready for its shot at being snagged, so after they took the damage, a significant amount, he called out

"Martha, Headbutt Mr. Mime! Clayton, take a reprieve!"

"Shadow Storm, again!" Michael tossed the Net Snag Ball, sucking up Poliwrath, and waited on the verdict. To his immense relief, it stuck, and only one Shadow Storm struck. However, his pokemon were weak enough at this point to faint from the blow. Michael pulled them back, instead pulling out Umbra and Earnest.

"Alright, guys, this is the final one; Umbra, Thunder Wave; Earnest, Poison Sting!"

"Shadow Blitz on the spider!" Mr. Mime rushed forward, covered in shadowy aura, and Umbra's move struck it head-on, paralyzing it and drastically slowing its movements. Earnest pushed it back with the slew of poisonous needles, canceling its attack. Michael observed the health, unsure of whether or not to risk it. After debating for a moment, he said

"Umbra, rest up! Earnest, if this doesn't work, I want you to use Poison Sting again." They nodded understandingly, and Michael snagged Mr. Mime, crossing his fingers. However, it didn't work and Earnest followed through with his orders. Mr. Mime was unable to move, so Michael went for a second shot, not bothering to cross his fingers this time, and it worked. The battle ended, Michael returned his pokemon, knowing he had to return to the healing machine just inside the building. Gorigan grumbled, obviously displeased.

"Dammit, why did you have to win? I wish there was a tree around here I could climb to just get away from it all." Michael sweatdropped at the remark, and Gorigan just walked past him, not bothering to look at him anymore. Michael breathed a sigh of relief, then backtracked and healed his pokemon up, continuing shortly after. He had to take on a PEON with a Shadow Dugtrio, but his pokemon's power was such that the PEONS were near worthless to him. He took the elevator upstairs, where he spotted a small storage room, and upon exiting found the larger building within the ball structure. There he saw Greevil and his red-haired bodyguard. He walked over to them, and Greevil turned, saying

"So, you managed to find your way into here, did you? You are certainly a formidable foe, by far the worthiest of challenging me. However, I will not battle you just yet. I still have one more thing to do before accepting your challenge. Therefore…" He turned to the bodyguard, telling him

"Take care of this. If he loses, dispose of him. If he wins, I will gladly take him on." The man hesitated briefly before nodding compliantly. Greevil floated off in his chair, and the man turned to Michael. He said

"You know that if you battle me, it will be unfulfilling and meaningless. Do you still want to fight?" Michael paused, unsure, and asked

"What are you talking about?" He sighed, then looked off into the distance, saying

"I feel like this is all wrong. Shadow pokemon are not meant to exist, and should never have been created in the first place. I do not like our methods, our goals, and ultimately regret joining this organization. Battles are not meant to be so desperate as you must have experienced, and that is all you will experience with me. Knowing this, are you still willing to take me on?" Michael scowled, replying

"I came here to beat your boss, but he won't let me take him on without beating you first. And I highly doubt you'll just give up your shadow pokemon." The man sighed, answering

"I would, but the Grandmaster will know, and I will be considered a grave disappointment. I don't want that, so battle we must if you insist on continuing. If indeed you do, then know this; my name is Eldes." Michael nodded grimly, and the two began. Eldes threw out a Ninjask and Manectric, which proved to be a shadow pokemon. Michael tossed out Clayton and Charlie, saying

"Charlie, Ice Beam Ninjask, and Clayton, Rock Slide on Manectric!"

"Ninjask, Protect, and Manectric, Shadow End." Michael bit back a curse as the green shield kept Ninjask safe and Manectric slammed down on Charlie, bringing his health detrimentally close to done, while its own health was halved. Clayton's move further reduced it, making it pretty well ready for capture. Michael worked on that, telling Charlie to nail the Ninjask. The Manectric caught and Ninjask went down, prompting Eldes to send out a new pair. He tossed out a normal Flygon and Shadow Salamence.

"Okay, Charlie, Ice Beam Flygon, and Clayton, Thunderbolt Salamence!"

"Flygon, Dragon Claw the Claydol; Salamence, Shadow End." Michael growled, sick of that move by this point. Charlie managed to strike the Flygon, freezing it solid. Eldes grunted, and the battle continued. Clayton paralyzed the dragon he aimed for, and Michael almost cheered, rendering it unable to move.

"Okay, let's keep up the heat! Charlie, finish off Flygon with Body Slam! Clayton, keep going with Thunderbolt!" Eldes knew Flygon wouldn't be recovered quickly enough, so only commanded

"Salamence, Shadow Break." Charlie slammed into Flygon, taking it down, and Clayton continued the electric assault on Salamence, who still couldn't move. Eldes next put up a Marowak, and Michael said

"Alright, Clayton, take a break. Charlie, Water Pulse the Marowak!" He threw an Ultra Snag Ball, snagging the Salamence, then watched as Eldes threw out the final pokemon, a Shadow Lapras. Michael scowled, knowing this was the last pokemon he had, but irritated that he had four shadow pokemon in total.

"_Then again, chances are that Greevil will have a full party of shadow pokemon, so I guess this is to be expected." _He continued

"Charlie, another Water Pulse; Clayton, Thunderbolt on Lapras!" Eldes countered

"Marowak, Shadow Half; Lapras, Shadow Storm." Michael narrowed his eyes, watching for the danger presented. Clayton fired the Thunderbolt, but it angled at Marowak instead of Lapras, doing no damage to the Ground type. Michael cursed inwardly, recognizing the ability Lightningrod. Charlie's move struck next, confusing it and causing it to damage itself, while Lapras' attack made it through.

"Okay, let's try this out; Clayton, Rock Slide on Lapras, and Charlie, take a break." He threw another snag ball, snagging the Marowak, and leaving Eldes with only one shadow pokemon, which he shortly caught as well. The battle done, Eldes lowered the glass wall, then told Michael

"I've done as I was told; that is all I care about right now. You can take the elevator over there to go down to Master Greevil's chamber. I will give you a word of caution; I would leave an open space in your party if I was you." Michael frowned slightly, but before he could ask why, Eldes walked off. Michael wasn't certain whether or not he should listen, but Eldes had proved more goodhearted than any other person in the organization, so perhaps his advice would be worth listening to. Michael went and healed his pokemon, then looked over the pokemon in his party, wondering who to store. His instinct told him Umbra, and his mind even gave him valid reasons. He didn't want to leave his friend behind, but all things considered, he didn't want him coming to harm, either. Making his choice, he sighed and said

"I'm sorry, Umbra, but I have to do this." He placed the pokeball on the scanner, and it was dissolved into data, stored on the account. Michael sighed again and turned toward the elevator, walking to it. He took it down, and it was exceptionally long. When he came out, he saw a large arena with massive space to move around. At the far end of the battlefield, Greevil floated in his chair, and he said

"So, you managed to get here. You have been the biggest threat to my plans, taking us down little by little. You've beaten all my grunts, my Admins, and taken all but seven of the shadow pokemon, or so I think. Regardless, that will all end here and now, as I unleash our grand plan, Project XD001!" There was a long, loud clanking and screeching, and gigantic doors pulled away on the far walls. Michael heard large flaps, as of an extraordinarily large bird. He tensed in preparation, and after a few seconds, a massive, sharp purple bird entered the arena, the very one from Michael's Phenac City nightmare. He backed up involuntarily, and the bird landed in front of Greevil, shrieking at Michael. Greevil laughed evilly, telling Michael

"What will you do now, boy?! You have no chance against this ultimate Shadow Lugia! Will you run?" Michael stepped back forward, his face set. He reached a hand inside the pack on his waist, answering

"I never run from a challenge, and I will _not _lose to you. Like all the shadow pokemon before, I'll snag it." Greevil laughed derisively, demanding maniacally

"And how do you propose to do that?!" Michael pulled his hand, not shaking anymore, out, and showed him the shrunken Master Ball for a moment. Then he pushed it into the shoulder piece on the Snag Machine, a dark purple light traveled down the wire, and he opened up his palm, creating a Master Snag Ball. He gripped it tightly and threw it hard at the Shadow Lugia. The hand swooped out and scooped it into the ball, and after three rocks it clicked; Michael had successfully snagged it. Greevil screamed angrily as Michael added the Shadow Lugia to his party, understanding what Eldes meant now.

"Curse you, you brat! How dare you steal my ultimate project away from me! I'll thrash you with everything I have, and once I'm done, you'll be brainwashed until nothing remains!" He hopped down, throwing his cane aside and strode up to the battlefield, quite sturdy on his legs despite his age. He threw out the first two of his pokemon, which turned out to be, much to Michael's amazement, a Shadow Rhydon and Shadow Moltres. Michael couldn't believe his eyes, staring at the phoenix-like bird, but managed to shake his head and clear it, retaliating with Charlie and Shadow Lugia. He quickly looked over Lugia's moves, surprised by one he had never heard of.

"And now you're going to use my own creations against me?! Rhydon, Shadow Break! Moltres, Shadow Fire!"

"Charlie, Water Pulse on Rhydon! Lugia, on Moltres, Shadow Blast!" The Lugia attacked first, rearing back and creating a pitcher-than-black orb of shadow power, firing it in a massive, powerful beam that struck Moltres directly on the chest, pushing it back. Moltres fired next, creating a stream of fire that greatly resembled Flamethrower, but tinged with dark purple. Charlie attacked next, slamming the orb of water into Rhydon and confusing it. Rhydon's attack managed to get through, though, slamming onto Lugia, barely doing anything. Michael was grateful then for Eldes' advice.

"Okay, repeat!"

"Both of you, destroy them!" Everything basically repeated itself, with the exception that Rhydon damaged itself instead of attacking, and Charlie fainted from Moltres' assault. Michael threw out Clayton in return, trying to think of a viable way to keep his team from being obliterated. He focused Clayton's turn on snagging Rhydon, which was successful, and Lugia's whittling down Moltres' health. Greevil sent out Shadow Exeggutor next, and Michael quickly switched up Clayton for Mark, continuing the battle against him.

"Mark, Flamethrower on Exeggutor! Lugia, Shadow Storm!"

"Moltres, Shadow Fire on Lugia! Exeggutor, Shadow Half!" Michael's eyes glinted, knowing this would make his job easier, in truth, where Moltres was concerned. Hopefully he could snag it, and quickly. Everyone's health was halved, and Michael felt ready to focus on Moltres.

"Okay, Mark, Ember on Exeggutor; try to make it light! Lugia, stand down!" The Lugia growled lightly but didn't argue, much to his amazement, and he used a Timer Snag Ball, hoping enough time had lapsed to use it. He tossed the ball and scooped it up, then waited for the verdict. However, it broke out, which ticked Michael off as much as he understood; it was a Legendary Bird Trio member, after all, so it would be difficult to catch. Mark whittled Exeggutor's health further down, and Michael decided to focus on something a bit more tangible instead.

"Okay, Mark, retreat for a Hyper Potion; Lugia, remain on standby." He healed Mark, then tossed an Ultra Snag Ball, snagging the Exeggutor on the first try, relieving him. Greevil then tossed out Shadow Articuno.

"_Does he have _all _of the Legendary Birds?!" _Michael cursed softly, then ordered

"Mark, Flamethrower on Articuno! Lugia, get ready for an attack!"

"Articuno, Shadow Ice! Moltres, Shadow Fire!" The two of the Bird Trio reared back, using their respective moves and striking for both super effective and not very effective damage. Michael tossed another snag ball, this one an Ultra Snag Ball, at Moltres. This time it caught, and Michael sighed in relief. Greevil cursed strongly, then tossed out a Shadow Tauros. Michael grunted, then commanded

"Mark, Crunch Tauros; Lugia, Shadow Storm!" The battle continued, both sides not willing to give into each other, and the waves of shadow energy assaulted Michael like the very storm Lugia was capable of using. However, he focused more on the battle itself, continually whittling down his target's health until he tried to snag them. Articuno, like Moltres, was having a hard time staying in the ball, while Tauros went down on the third try. Greevil tossed out his last pokemon, Shadow Zapdos. Michael switched Mark out for Clayton, commanding

"Clayton, Psychic on Zapdos, and Lugia, Shadow Blast on Zapdos!"

"Articuno, Shadow Ice! Zapdos, Shadow Bolt!" Michael awaited the damage, glad most of the focus was on Lugia as opposed to Clayton, who probably would have caved easily from the assault. Zapdos' health was very close to the red, and Michael thought for a moment.

"Okay, Clayton, standby! Lugia, Shadow Storm!"

"You two know what to do." This time around, Articuno and Zapdos focused their attention on Clayton, whose turn was used to use a Hyper Potion on Lugia, and he fainted, worrying Michael. He sent out Martha, one of the few options he had left now. He spent the next couple turns using some Max Revives on his fainted pokemon, which wound up with Martha's defeat and Clayton back on the field. He kept using Shadow Storm, until at last Articuno's health was as low as it would get without fainting. With that in mind, he created and tossed another snag ball, hoping to everything good that it held. After some tense waiting, it did, and Michael brought it back to him. But there was still one left.

Then on, Greevil insisted on spamming Shadow Bolt, not even bothering to heal his pokemon, whereas Michael focused on doing that while Lugia whittled its health further down. After ten minutes, Michael felt confident enough to try for Zapdos, but it was too strong, like its brethren. He continued to attack it, healing now and then, his heart racing for all it was worth. There was no rush such as that of battle, but it was hardly a desirable battle, mostly on Michael's part, but neither did Greevil enjoy himself.

It was another ten minutes before Michael decided to risk another snag ball, this time a Timer Snag Ball. It rocked once… twice… thrice… It clicked, and Michael felt stunned for a few moments, then extended his hand experimentally. The Timer Ball flew to his hand, then disappeared, being sent to the PC. He had done it; he had beaten Cipher completely. He had won.

Greevil fell to the floor in disbelief, unable to reconcile the fact that he lost. He muttered certain nonsensical things to himself, wondering what he was going to do now. The sound of a lifting platform resounded, and Ardos came up, saw the scene before him, and looked at Michael at first in shock, then unadulterated anger.

"You! You did this! I won't forgive- there's no forgiving you!" He quickly walked over to Greevil, telling him

"Grandmaster, we need to leave the island. We'll blow it up and take the child with it." Michael blinked in shock, unable to believe what he had heard. It was one thing to steal, corrupt pokemon, and hurt other people, but this man would resort to murder?! Greevil argued

"But… all of our comrades… our work…"

"Such things can be replaced. But we cannot. We should get out while we can; I've got the helicopter waiting. In his weakened, shocked state, Greevil seemed easy to manipulate, and he said dazedly

"Yes… it is the only way… do not begrudge us, child…"

"Stop!" Everyone looked to see Eldes walking toward them, continuing

"Stop, please! You would sacrifice everything, all our work, those innocent lives, just to eliminate this child?" Ardos snapped

"Shut up! Cipher must survive, and the Grandmaster must lead us! He agrees!" Greevil added, still dazed

"Yes… for the sake of our goals, we must take sometimes drastic measures…" Eldes argued

"Are you hearing yourself?! The sake of our goals? Face the facts, both of you! Cipher is finished, XD001 is defeated! Nothing remains of our organization, and we should accept the consequences of our actions." Ardos shouted

"You spineless weakling! Why aren't you standing up for yourself?!" He scoffed and turned to Greevil, telling him

"Grandmaster, please give the order to destroy Citadark Isle immediately." Greevil replied

"Yes… for the sake of our work, this sacrifice must be made…" Eldes struggled with something for a moment, then shouted

"Please, stop this… father!" Michael blinked in utter shock, not quite certain he heard correctly. Ardos whirled around, demanding

"Don't call him father! Call him the Grandmaster!" Eldes walked past his, apparently, brother, and continued to speak, more softly than Ardos ever had.

"Father, look at yourself. You've lost who you are with all this 'Grandmaster' nonsense. This isn't who you really are." Greevil looked up to his son, his eyes shining with tears, and he simply groaned. Eldes added

"Look at this child, this remarkable child. He, acting alone, completely defeated us, even XD001! We were in the wrong." Greevil began trembling, and he muttered

"Everything… everything I did, it was all a mistake…" Eldes held his hand out to him, saying

"Please, father, give up this silly dream, and accept the consequences for our actions. Let us make things right again." Ardos scowled and turned away, walking toward what Michael was certain was that helicopter. Greevil slowly took Eldes' hand, and Eldes helped him to stand, handing over his cane. Eldes walked up to Michael then, telling him

"Thanks to you, we were able to come out of our nightmare. Thank you." Michael hesitated for a moment, then nodded uncertainly. Eldes removed his glasses, revealing cool blue eyes, and he said

"You have nothing more to fear from us. Return to your friends, your family, and enjoy your life. We will turn ourselves over and accept whatever punishment they give us. I hope one day we will be able to meet again, and when that time comes, we may have a proper battle." Michael nodded again, happy to hear this coming from him. Eldes walked back to Greevil and led him away, and Michael stood shakily for a few moments.

Once he managed to compose himself, he walked over to the elevator and took it back down, leaving the building entirely and walking back to his Robo Kyogre. As he stood on the dock, he felt a hint of warmth, and he looked up to see the dark, gloomy clouds that hung over Citadark Isle begin to dissipate and drift away, allowing the sunlight to hit his face. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling, then hopped into the marine vehicle and jetted back to Gateon Port. There he proclaimed the good news, and after everyone got over the initial shock, they began cheering loudly. Michael smiled wearily, then went and hopped onto his scooter, heading home.

**The Pokemon Research Lab**

Michael stumbled up the steps, his vision flickering from how remarkably tired he was, and nearly fell over, but was instead caught by warm arms with pink sleeves. Looking up, Michael saw his mother, positively happy that her son had returned to her in one piece. Jovi was there, too, not blabbering away as he expected, but simply beaming up at him. Michael sighed in relief and relaxed against his mother, finally glad it was over. The Professor came out, helping Lily support Michael to his room, he receiving cheers along the way. Lily and the professor gently set him on his bed, removing the pokemon from his waist so he could be comfortable. He quickly fell asleep, for the first time being peaceful.

**Okay, that ends the chapter but not the story. There's still so much more to come, so I hope you'll stick around! Remember to review, and thank you all!**


	8. Ch 8 A Life-Changing Decision

**Okay, I'm eager to keep this going and see where it leads! So, Michael has defeated Cipher, but there still some shadow pokemon to handle, so how will this turn out?**

Michael could be found outside the research lab, in the back, working with the various shadow pokemon. He had insisted that everyone else stay away for their own safety, but Jovi insisted on hanging around, one way or another. Michael was using his own pokemon to battle the shadow pokemon, though he planned to take on Mt. Battle soon.

Throughout the day, the most that happened was an occasional accidental strike on Michael's person, either by bad aim or some other design. Regardless, he persisted, and when they were ready he quickly called them back and placed them in the Purify Chamber. Once he finished that, he took them back outside and let them out, at which point they had a tendency to thank him profusely, which gratified him in a way. He always asked if they had previous trainers, and if so, he took them back, which naturally made the trainers very happy to get them back.

If they had no trainer, he asked if they wanted to stay with him or return to the wild. Few chose to stick around, a few examples being the Marowak, Roselia, who he decided to name Freya. However, while most decided not to hang around, a select few did, such as the male Ralts, whom he called Loran, his team, naturally, the female Snorunt, Theya, Hitmonlee, who he would name later, and the shadow pokemon who had yet to be purified. For the most part, the pokemon left their own way.

At the same time, he was keeping a sharp eye out for Miror B., who still had the remaining shadow pokemon, not to mention the Shadow Dragonite. Every time he showed up, Michael zipped over to whichever coliseum he was in, whether Pyrite or Realgam, he wasn't safe from Michael.

One day came where Michael had filled the boxes of the Purify Chamber with shadow pokemon, waiting for the process to do its thing, while at the same time taking a team of shadow pokemon up to Mt. Battle, working to purify the maximum amount possible. While his mother and the professor worried about his health, Michael refused to relax until they were all taken care of. Thus far, he had taken the Shadow Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lapras, Rhydon, and Lugia with him, and while the first five were responding well to the battle therapy, the Lugia made absolutely no change at all.

This was a sore spot for Michael, because no matter how hard he tried, he could not purify the Legend with any of the methods he previously used, and with every failure it seemed to become even angrier with him, attacking with the shadow energy, which hurt on more than one account. Nevertheless, he refused to give up on it.

After several levels, the Shadow Lapras was ready to be purified, so Michael cut off from his current Mt. Battle challenge to visit the Relic Stone. As he walked around, throughout all of Orre, he noticed how much more peaceful the people seemed without the looming threat of the shadow pokemon over their heads. He also tended to get a lot of praise wherever he went, which while at first was gratifying, it soon became tiring. Now he just ignored it and continued to work with the remaining shadow pokemon.

**Relic Forest**

Michael breathed the fresh, crisp air that the forest offered, glad that at least this area was tranquil. He walked up to the Relic Stone, touched it, and brought out the Shadow Lapras. The greenish glow that surrounded the stone lifted and drifted to the Lapras, dispelling the shadow energy from its heart. Once it finished, it looked around curiously, and Michael smiled at it.

"Welcome back! You're no longer a shadow pokemon!" It flinched at this, and Michael paused as it seemed to tremble. Not more than a second later, it began to shriek and bawl loudly, and Michael covered his ears at the sudden, unwelcome noise. He quickly looked back at it to try and calm it down, but it was already gone. Michael's head whipped around, trying to find it, and he saw it using its flippers to hit the ground and lift it, pushing it forward.

He ran after it, calling for it to stop, but that only seemed to spur its advances, and after a few minutes of this, it took a very sudden plunge. Michael paused only a second, then ran forward again, trying to figure out what was going on. He had almost reached the point where it disappeared, when all of a sudden he heard a massive, sickening crunching noise. He paled at the thought of what it was, but trepidaciously pressed on.

He soon found out that the reason the recently purified Lapras had plummeted was because it fell over a cliff side, a small one yes, but it was still far enough. Michael looked over the edge, fearing what he would find, and immediately reeled back, barely able to hold onto his lunch. After a moment of composing himself, he forced himself to look back over, trying to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Unfortunately, he wasn't.

At the bottom of the cliff lay the broken body of the Lapras, in a very large, unbelievably real pool of blood. The gentle creature, obviously distraught for reasons Michael suspected, must have been overcome with guilt and committed suicide to get rid of it. Michael sat back, unable to hold the meager meal down at this point, and as he wiped a shaky arm across his mouth, he thought

"_That was… brutal, to say the least. Lapras are typically such gentle, caring creatures, it must have remembered all the atrocities it committed when a shadow pokemon and couldn't handle the guilt. Either that, or some deeper level I'm not aware of." _Whatever the case, Michael knew he had to prevent a recurrence of it, lest he lose more of his sanity. He shook his head sadly, wanting to properly take care of the Lapras, but knowing he couldn't; there was no safe passage down, nor did he have the proper tools. Nature would just have to take over this one.

Sighing in resignation, Michael stood back up and shuffled back to the Relic Stone, laying a hand against its cool surface for a few minutes to reap the benefits of it powers. Once he felt ready, he left the forest and went back to the research lab, where he gave the unfortunate news to his mother and the professor, his mother understandably distraught, while the professor was simply shocked. However, things had to move on, and Michael was shortly gone back to Mt. Battle.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A couple months after the defeat of Cipher, word got around that mass boat movement was occurring toward Citadark Isle, which many, many shady figures creeping through the dead of night to the docks. If Michael had to guess, he would have said that Cipher was trying to remain on its feet, rallying at Citadark in order to regroup. However, as there was no more production of shadow pokemon, to his knowledge, he didn't worry himself overly about it. Surely the local police force could handle this problem on their own.

Michael had managed to snag every listed shadow pokemon, with the exception of Shadow Dragonite. He was waiting for the Miror Radar to go off, telling him where the ball-haired disco freak was, hopefully with this last shadow pokemon. Irritatingly, however, the radar remained silent, and Michael continued with purifying the shadow pokemon. All that was left was the Legendary Bird Trio, and Lugia itself, who Michael still hadn't been able to purify in the least amount. He spoke extensively with the professor about it, but he had no suggestions. Nevertheless, Michael still took it wherever he went, trying to help it in any way possible.

One day as he was heading out to Realgam Tower (he was a little low on funds at this point), a ringing noise sounded off. Michael quickly stopped and parked the scooter, wondering what was going on. Upon investigating, he saw that the Miror Radar had gone off, and his heart leapt at the opportunity to snag the last shadow pokemon, hopefully in existence, and purify it! The radar told him Miror B. was at… Gateon Port? Michael blinked at the radar, but there was no mistaking the words; Miror B. was currently located in Gateon, though where precisely in Gateon was still unknown. Nevertheless, there were few hiding spots in Gateon, so Michael turned completely around and sped off.

**Gateon Port**

Michael walked up to the lighthouse, the imposing structure very impressive close up. Michael had a gut feeling, which told him that Miror B. was going to try for flare, again, and what better place than the second-tallest structure in Orre? The only reason he was here, though, was because he could not hope to safely climb to the top of Realgam Tower.

Michael took the elevator up to the top of the lighthouse, and he spotted Trudly and Folly. A line of Ludicolo, three on each side, surrounded the stairs which led up to the lookout point, and on top of that was the disco freak himself. Michael's face became set, he climbed up the stairs, and stopped at the base of the platform. Miror B. turned and began to speak to him.

"So, you've come at last. I have to admit, you've become quite a prodigy. Have you been letting the success go to your head?" Michael rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, answering

"I don't have time for that; I'm busy cleaning up the mess Cipher left behind, namely the shadow pokemon. You still have one, and I intend to get it."

"I wouldn't have expected any less from you. However, don't think I'm going to make it easy for you." Michael smirked, replying

"After defeating the top two Admins, along with the boss of Cipher, how hard can you be?"

"Why don't we put it to the test and see for ourselves?" Michael nodded, his face set. They both tossed out their starting pokemon, and predictably, Miror B. sent out Ludicolo. Michael, on the other hand, summoned Earnest and Shadow Zapdos, who was close to being ready for purification. Michael began

"Let's kick this off! Earnest, Sludge Bomb, and Zapdos, Shadow Bolt!" Miror B. countered

"Ludicolo One, Rain Dance, baby, and Ludicolo Two, Fake Out on Ariados!" Michael growled as Earnest flinched involuntarily, but smirked as Zapdos' move took down one of the dancing irritations. Miror B. sent out another Ludicolo, and commanded

"Ludicolos, Headbutt Zapdos! " They both aimed at the electric bird as Michael countered

"Earnest, Sludge Bomb! Zapdos, Shadow Bolt!" The two pokemon took down Miror B. Ludicolos, leaving him with three pokemon left. As usual, it was more Ludicolo, which Michael took down with little trouble. At last came what he was after; Shadow Dragonite.

"Okay, it's make or break time here! Earnest, Sludge Bomb, and Zapdos, Thunderbolt!" Zapdos was already at the point where it had several regular moves already returned, and Michael tried to capitalize on that before he attempted to snag the Dragonite. Luckily Zapdos paralyzed it, which would help in the long run, and Sludge Bomb inflicted decent damage. It couldn't move at the time, either, and Michael figured this would be in the bag.

The battle continued on, the Shadow Dragonite using Shadow Sky and several Blitzes, taking out Earnest in the process. Michael replaced him with Umbra, and slowly but surely they whittled its health down, until at last Michael felt confident enough to go for broke. He pulled out a Timer Ball and altered it, then threw it at the dragon pokemon. It rocked once… twice… thrice… and clicked! Michael had finally snagged the last shadow pokemon! He pulled it to his hand as Miror B. shouted in disbelief.

"No, I cannot accept this! No brat should be able to beat a full-grown adult, it simply defies the laws of nature!" Michael rolled his eyes, retorting

"Then it's clear what's going on; you're the child here, and I'm the adult." Miror B. scoffed derisively, rushing past him and shouting

"May this be the last we see of each other!" Michael secretly agrees, but not shortly after Miror B. ran into the elevator, he heard him speak.

"What's this? Who put this radio transmitter in my hair?!" Then a zapping noise emanated from the Miror Radar, and Michael pulled it out to find it completely useless now. It no longer received a signal, and Michael guessed Miror B. broke the transmitter. Glad to be done with him, he went to take care of the remaining shadow pokemon.

**Two Months Later…**

Michael sat on the edge of the roof of the research lab, the Master Ball in his hand. He stared at it, with a problem in mind;

He had purified all of the shadow pokemon. All, that is, except for Shadow Lugia. No matter how hard or often he tried, nothing he did made a dent in its shadow bar, and Michael was becoming increasingly frustrated, as the residents of the Lab could testify. Cudgel his brains though he might, he couldn't come up with a strategy to fix this one last problem, and had even gone to the fortune teller in Pyrite, though she was hardly any help.

He sighed, clipping the ball back to his belt, and leaned back on his arms. His quiet ruminating on the failure was interrupted by small, quick footsteps, and Jovi appeared next to him.

"Hi, big brother!" Michael smirked ever so slightly, grunting in reply. Her face became more concerned, asking

"Something wrong, big brother?" Michael sighed, the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"It's Shadow Lugia. I still can't purify it, and it's been almost three months now! It's the same as when I first got it, and I don't know what to do anymore!" Jovi crossed her legs, thumping her right knee on the roof for a time as she thought. After a while, and just before the sun had completely set, she turned her head to him and suggested

"Why not the Purify Chamber?" Michael rolled his eyes, arguing

"Because it's not ready. Its shadow bar is full, and it looks like it'll stay that way from now on." Jovi persisted

"Think about it, big brother; Lugia is supposed to be unpurifiable, right? So it's not like the other shadow pokemon. It would follow that this shadow pokemon will be purified differently." Michael frowned slightly at her reasoning, asking uncertainly

"Are you sure about that?" Jovi shrugged, replying

"Couldn't hurt to try, could it?" Michael had to admit, it couldn't, especially since he had exhausted all other options already.

"Alright, but if we accept this idea as plausible, which box do I use? And on that note, should I remove the pokemon inside the boxes now?" Jovi shook her head, reasoning

"Leave them all in; it'll save you time. If this first idea doesn't pan out, then big brother can remove all the pokemon and try something else. As for the boxes, try them all, one at a time. Something's bound to give." Michael sighed, unable to refute her logic, paltry as it was, in lieu of just giving up altogether.

"Alright, little sis, let's see if your hunch is worth anything." They traveled back through the lab, which was steadily becoming tense as news spread about a possible Cipher recurrence. However, the children ignored this fact, intent as they were on taking care of the last shadow pokemon to date that they were aware of. They entered the Purify Chamber, and Michael stood on the center pad, Jovi joining him.

Jovi watched as Michael placed Lugia on the center pedestal of the first Set, but nothing special happened. Michael repeated this action for the second and third Sets, with identical results. He was impatient on the fourth, also a failure, and as he retracted the pokemon, he told Jovi

"This is a bust, Jovi. It's not going to work." Her eyes lit up with determination, and she told him

"Keep trying, big brother; a true Ryuto never gives up, remember?" Michael had to smirk at that, and though he felt doubtful about it, he placed the Shadow Lugia in the middle of the fifth Set, where something amazing happened. White flames surrounded the pokemon, shocking both Michael and Jovi. Michael quickly pushed the button to update the status, which told him that Lugia was ready to be purified.

Brother and sister looked at each other in dumb shock, but Jovi's expression quickly changed to that of excitement.

"Jovi told you so, big brother! Jovi was right!" Michael rolled his eyes, replying

"You sure did, and just when I was going to give up. Whattya say to doing the honors? After all, it was your ingenuity that made this possible." Jovi thought for a moment, then replied firmly

"We'll do it together; Jovi may have thought of this, but big brother was trying hard for months to get it right. We both deserve the credit!" Michael smirked again, and Jovi placed part of her hand on half the button to enact the purifying process. Michael placed his hand on his half and counted down;

"Three… two… one." They pushed the button simultaneously, and the lines, like runes, in the machine lit up, crawling to the central point on the ceiling. A pulsing white ball of light came down, falling and sinking into Lugia. After a few moment, the green light surrounded Lugia, and its color shifted places; the purple coloration seemed to crawl over its skin to its belly, while sheer white bloomed over what used to be dark purple. The appendages around its eyes smoothed out, becoming pointed on one end instead of jagged throughout, and overall the appearance of the bird became far more approachable.

Michael and Jovi exited the Purify Chamber, Michael quickly swiping the Master Ball out, and the two children ran outside, ignoring the protests of their mother. Without breaking stride, Michael tossed the Master Ball into the air, releasing the pokemon inside. It shrieked into the air, though not nearly as menacing as when it was a shadow pokemon. It looked down on the two excited children, and a feminine, strangely calming voice echoed in their heads.

"_Are you the ones who released me from my fetters?"_ Michael and Jovi whipped their heads around, trying to locate the source of the voice, but they couldn't see anyone else. The voice echoed in their minds again, telling them

"_It is I, Lugia. I have been shackled here for many months, yearning for release. Which of you is responsible?" _Jovi and Michael automatically pointed at each other, confusing the Legend, and after a moment the siblings began a small argument.

"What is big brother pointing at Jovi for?! You were the one to snag it!"

"I was going to give up until you came up with the idea to place it straight into the Purify Chamber!"

"But big brother pushed the button!"

"We pushed it at the same time!" After a short time of this, Lugia gently placed a wing-hand between them, saying

"_I think I get it. I thank you both for your effort to save me, and I apologize to you, youngling, for creating such turmoil toward you in the course of my imprisonment."_ Michael simply nodded, still quite dumb with shock. After a moment, though, he shook his head free of it and asked

"If you don't mind my asking, why do you sound… feminine? I was under the impression that Legends were genderless." Lugia smirked and replied

"_I sound feminine because I _am _feminine. You humans just haven't been able to observe us closely enough to determine a gender, and therefore cannot agree on one, leaving it at genderless. And I highly doubt you'll ever accomplish it, seeing as that is private and personal." _Michael blushed slightly, understanding more or less what she meant.

"So… what happens now?"

"_Well, if possible, I would like to return to my realm. However, the device you use to capture pokemon has me trapped in your clutches, so I cannot do this." _Michael fumbled with his mind and mouth for a second, but finally managed to tell her

"I can release you and the Trio tomorrow. I'll let you go at Gateon Beach, alright?" She nodded, answering

"_That is acceptable. What is your name, little one?" _Michael replied

"Michael Ryuto."

"_A fine name for a warrior such as yourself. I thank you, Michael Ryuto, for your efforts to save my pokemon kindred from a fate worse than death, at the cost of your own life." _Michael just nodded, feeling like a bobble-head at this point.

"I was glad to do it. I'm just glad it's over now."

"_Very well. Until tomorrow, then, I bid you both a good night." _Michael and Jovi both nodded, and Michael returned her to the Master Ball. He stared at it for a moment, then clipped it back to his belt, remarking

"What a day, huh Jovi?" His little sister giggled for a moment, agreeing, but nonverbally. Sighing, he turned back to the research lab and walked to turn in for the night. They of course had to explain why they had run outside at this time of night, but soon were awash in cheering. Michael went to bed smiling, too tired to worry at the moment of nightmares.

**The Next Day**

Michael and Jovi were on their way to Gateon Beach, Jovi insisting to come along until he caved in. After a couple hours, they stood on the sandy break between solid land and the expanse of the ocean, well away from prying eyes so that no one spotted the large birds Michael was about to send back into the wild. He plucked the four pokeballs from his belt and manually released each of the birds, making sure it was permanent, which unfortunately broke the pokeball, rendering the Master Ball useless and unusable.

"_Michael Ryuto, from all of us to you, we thank you once again for saving us. If ever you are in need of help and we are nearby, just ask and we will assist." _Michael grinned, nodding gratefully.

"I'll be sure to remember that. I hope you all enjoy your freedom and get to keep it." They all nodded in reply, and the Trio took off for the skies, while Lugia walked into the ocean and dove under. Michael sighed heavily, remarking

"That was some job to do, eh Jovi?" She giggled and replied

"All in a day's work for you, though!" Michael rolled his eyes and turned to return to the scooter, but the ringtone of his email sounded off, and Jovi heard it as well, quickly asking

"Who is it?" Michael looked, seeing with surprise that it was his mother.

"It's Mom." Jovi blinked and cocked her head, asking

"What does she want?" Michael looked, relaying

"She wants us home; apparently, some officers came to talk to me." Jovi's eyes became panicked, and she asked urgently

"You didn't do anything bad, did you big brother?!" Michael rolled his eyes, telling her

"Relax, Mom already said it wasn't like that. They just needed to discuss something with me." Jovi breathed a sigh of relief, then struck his arm, shouting

"Don't scare Jovi like that! She was worried about you!" Michael rolled his eyes again and said

"C'mon, we need to get there soon." He took a quick second to reply that they were heading back, and they hopped back onto the scooter and took off.

Back at the research lab, the officers, a male and female, were waiting for him, and said

"Mr. Ryuto, we've been waiting for you."

"So I heard. What's this about?"

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. We just need to discuss something of monumental importance with you. We already have the room we'll be speaking in, so if you'll just follow us…" Michael frowned, finding it strange to be led around in his own home, but didn't argue it. He was led with his mother and the professor to the conference room, the door closed tightly behind them. The officers sat down and motioned for them to do the same. Lily and Krane did so, but Michael refused, not wanting to completely be at their mercy. They of course were suspicious but let it drop in light of the current matter.

"So, as you might have heard at some point or another, Citadark Isle has been a site of activity. We have reason to believe that Cipher is trying to regroup on the island, perhaps to make a retaliation." Michael frowned, already having suspected this, and asked

"Why does this involve us? More specifically, me." The male officer sighed, replying

"Well, you're the only person not affiliated with Cipher, on and off the record, to safely infiltrate the island and survive, without first being wasted by the vicious tidal waves. We're already aware that they're artificial, so we need you to go back and shut it down so we can arrest the remainder of Cipher." Michael paled at the thought, and his mother came to his defense, railing against the officer.

"No, absolutely not! My son has been through enough danger already, and he nearly died doing it! Get someone else to be your puppet!" The female officer waved her hand, telling her

"Ma'am, please calm down. We understand that he's done a lot, and we very much appreciate it. However, we've already lost several good men in the attempt to get to them, and we need as many as we can get to take on this overwhelming hoard of villains. It pains us to ask this, and took us a month to decide on; even then, it was very close." Lily seemed to inflate with rage, continuing to shout.

"I don't care! I've already lost my husband to those murderous bastards! I'm not going to lose my children, too!" The male officer slammed his hands down on the table, propelling himself up, and retorted angrily

"If he doesn't help, everyone's children may die!" Lily was only getting angrier, but Michael stopped her, grabbing onto her arm. She looked at him, and he told her

"Mom, that's enough." She deflated, and Michael turned to the officers, answering

"I'll do it. I won't like it, but I understand that it's necessary. However, I want you to leave my family alone for the duration this takes place. Any questions you have can wait for my return. Are we agreed?" The officers looked at each other, obviously surprised that a child was making dictations over what happened, though it couldn't be denied that he had better reason than most other people to make such demands. They nodded simultaneously, and Michael said grimly

"I'll be ready at the beginning of the next week, in two days. Make sure you have your troops on standby, and as soon as the waters become less treacherous, make your move. I probably won't be able to hold them off forever." They nodded grimly in return, then rose and said their goodbyes, leaving fairly quickly. Michael sighed and left himself, heading to his room and taking his sturdy yellow pack. He put in a change of clothes, most of his medical supplies, and some key items. Once he finished, he went back out, confronted by his remaining family.

"Big brother, you're not really gonna go again, are you?" Michael could hear the pain in her voice, and he replied unwillingly

"I have to, Jovi; no one else is capable of doing it."

"But Jovi doesn't want you to go, big brother! You can't leave us behind!" Michael's heart broke, and he knelt in front of her.

"Listen to me, Jovi, this isn't something I want to do, but it needs to be done. Remember one of the first five rules of being a Ryuto?" She thought for a moment, answering

"Being one can be a pain in the butt?" Michael chuckled, his spirits lifting slightly at her answer.

"That was Dad's self-appointed rule, though it's not unwarranted. A true Ryuto never turns down a challenge." Jovi looked down, unwilling to admit it, but she knew it was a matter of pride as much as a pressing need.

"Fine. But Jovi swears, big brother, if you don't come back, Jovi will resurrect you and kill you again." Michael snorted in laughter, and replied

"I'll make sure to come back in one piece. It's not exactly in my best interest not to, anyway." Jovi nodded firmly, telling him

"Then you kick all their butts and make sure they can't sit down in jail for a long time." Michael and Lily both laughed now, and they shared a hug. He stood back up, Jovi running off somewhere, and Michael and his mother had their own discussion.

"You know all too well that I might not be able to keep my promise, right?" Lily's eyes teared up, and she begged

"Please don't say that, Michael. I don't want to lose you, too." Michael sighed, apologizing

"I'm sorry, I'm just trying to keep realistic here. But promise me, no matter what happens, you won't give up. Jovi still needs her mother." Lily sighed.

"I know that, Michael. I'm older than you are." He chuckled nervously, then went and retrieved his pack.

"Well, as long as you and Jovi can hold strong, I feel more reassured about coming home." Lily's eyebrows rose, and she asked

"Are you leaving already?" Michael nodded, explaining

"No sense in giving them time to recover. Besides, I have a feeling, strange as it is, that the force might be bugged. I'll attack before they're ready for me, and hopefully be done much faster with this." After a moment, Lily nodded, agreeing. She pulled him into a hug, telling him

"You come home in one piece, you hear me?" Michael rolled his eyes playfully, droning

"Yes, Mom." They shared a brief moment of humor, then separated. Michael walked out the door and made a beeline for his scooter, taking off shortly after. He sighed at the prospects of this daunting mission, but understood its necessity. Nevertheless, he was going to greatly dislike this part.

**Citadark Isle**

The trip back to the dark island had been uneventful, and was eerily empty from the outside. Certainly no one could suspect activity by simply looking for a few minutes, but the reports had been gathered over a period of weeks, and most of the activity happened at night. Swallowing his trepidation, Michael pressed forward, walking into the entrance. He remembered the control room to the machine that created the vicious waves around Citadark resided there, and the best way would be to take it down there.

Along the path he took before, there was not a single soul in sight, and instead of relieving Michael, it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to prick up uncomfortably. It felt like something big was waiting on him, just ready to pounce when he was least suspecting it. Nothing occurred at the elevator, but when he took it up, he immediately spotted the contingent of scientists and PEONS, who he assumed were guards.

He exited the elevator as quietly and inconspicuously as humanly possible, his heart pounding a thousand miles a minute. He crept silently along, hoping beyond hope to get by without a confrontation. However, today would not be his lucky day. A piercing alarm rang out, several searchlights focused on him, and a shout of

"Intruder alert, intruder in the building!" rang out. Michael's hands dove for his pokemon, but he hadn't even raised them halfway before he was attacked with vicious, tearing teeth, immediately expanding his fear, stripping away any remnants of happiness he previously felt. He lashed back, punching the, he now realized, shadow pokemon. However, doing so left him open for attack, and a Shadow Totodile latched onto the fist, adding further damage. A Shadow Machop crashed into him, sending him into the horde of shadow pokemon, which all began to tear away at him.

Michael screamed in pain as every sense was ripped away from him, save for anger, and a burning hatred, compounded by the overwhelming urge to maim and rip apart his attackers. He lashed out again, more strongly this time, and punched away one of his assailants, which was quickly replaced with another five. That sealed the deal; with an explosion of what appeared to be black fire, the shadow pokemon surrounding Michael went flying, some crashing into the walls, others into the people, a few out the nearby windows, and a couple into the large rotors of the spinning machine. The fire-like apparition cloaked the area where Michael previously stood, and everyone, human and pokemon alike, watched in trepidation at what might come out. After almost five minutes, the "fire" dissipated, revealing a transformed being.

The remaining people looked at the child in near-horror, but it couldn't even be described as human anymore; its clothes were all torn to shreds, revealing a toned but not particularly muscular body, in which many places were bleeding profusely. However, it seemed not to notice. Most disturbingly, though, had to be the face. Like the body, there were several wide gashes, but there was no mistaking the fangs, in place of canines and the blood-colored eyes. It could have been passed off as blood having made its way into the eyes, except the irises were pure red.

Everyone else backed away as the monster paused, looking at its surroundings. After a few moments, one of the shadow pokemon launched forward, trying to sink its teeth into the creature. It immediately turned its attention, meeting it head-on and wrestling with it for control. A few more shadow pokemon joined in the brawl, and it seemed the human-shaped beast would be overwhelmed. But something came through, and it pushed them all away with massive strength. It glared at the scientists and PEONS, who involuntarily froze in place, as if they'd spotted a venomous snake. After a few moments of the stare-down, the creature took a tentative step forward and the rest a step back. The red-eyed beast paused at this, then repeated the action with similar results. Then it attacked, launching forward and seeming to fly through the air at one of them. He screamed and tried to run, but slammed into one of his fellows, allowing the creature to pounce on him, where he experienced a terrifying myriad of images, inflicted by the creature's loathsome touch.

The PEON was soon reduced to a gibbering mess, and it moved on, assaulting one of the scientists. Coincidentally, the force caused him to smash into the glass case concealing the button which would kill the engine to the machine creating the whirlpool; nobody noticed.

The attack continued for many more hours, feeling like eternity to the victims of the beast's assaults. Very suddenly, a mass of uniformed officers stormed the room, shouting for their immediate surrender, but had a difficult time comprehending the rampaging beast that wouldn't listen. It attacked a few officers before being taken down by a couple tranquilizers. The officers rounded up the remaining villains, sending in medical forces for the ones reduced to barely legible humans, while the sub-human attacker was restrained.

**Two Weeks Later, Orre Hospital…**

Michael's prone body lay on the bed, various tubes appearing to come out of him, and breathing steadily. His eyes were still closed and unresponsive, though eerily red, a fact that greatly worried his mother, who sat nearby with the professor and her daughter. Since she heard about the events of Citadark Isle, though they were rather sketchy at best, she had been extremely distraught. Her friends tried being supportive, but her worry overrode their efforts.

Once they had been allowed to see him, Lily refused to leave Michael's side, much less his room. Luckily the doctor was lenient about the matter, but insisted she take a break now and then for her own health. The professor enforced this, so she still got more or less regular exercise. The doctors had informed her that for one reason or another, Michael had been shot with tranquilizers, but everyone refused to talk about the matter, which while strange in itself wasn't as important as Cipher's downfall.

As the days passed by, the tranquilizer was wearing off, but the doctor had him on anesthetic, since the damage to his body was more than likely more than he could consciously take for the time being. After almost the end of the week, though, he had made a surprising recovery, and the doctor said he could return home, though would likely be out of it for a while. He also suggested that they let him be on his own for a brief time, because the damage to his mind might have been extensive, but hopefully not permanent.

As the more or less relieved family was transported home in the hovering emergency vehicle, the figure of Michael stirred a few times, perhaps in response to the motion of the vehicle, but didn't actually wake. He was carried by the paramedics inside and to his room, where they gently lay him on the bed. They bid the family goodbye and went on their way, while the rest went to take care of their business and give Michael plenty of time to rest.

That night, when everything was slowing down, Jovi decided to check on her brother like a good little sister, perhaps see if he was awake yet. When she entered the room, however, she immediately saw that her brother was still sleeping, but not peacefully. He was rolling around constantly, eliciting feral grunts and shouts, obviously fearful, and she quickly ran over, shaking his shoulder.

"Big brother, get up! You're having another nightmare!" Michael's body stopped thrashing, very abruptly, and his head slowly turned to face her. Jovi saw with a shiver running down her spine that almost inch-long fangs had grown where canines should have been, and upon opening them, blood-red eyes. Instead of speaking, he flashed a maniacal, diabolical grin and growled low and feral. Jovi backed away, trying to put distance between herself and her brother/ pseudo demon. He jumped up, crouching on the mattress, and growled louder. Jovi screamed shrilly and bolted for the door, the form of her brother following shortly after.

In a moment of desperation, Jovi fled into her room, where she shut the door and bolted it, hearing her brother slam into it in his desperate bid to capture her. The beast howled in anger, sheer terror flowing through Jovi's body at the sound of the beast's rage. It started slamming against the door, trying to knock it down and reach his prey. The enormous din attracted the residents of the research lab, first and foremost Lily. She paled at the sight of what seemed to be her son, fanged, red-eyed, and trying to break her daughter's door down for whatever reason. The best looked upon the gathered group, and its eyes latched on Lily, standing out in her pink jacket.

The beast grinned and began to prowl, walking on all fours as naturally as any other animal, growling in a threatening tone. The others backed away slowly, but Lily was rooted to the spot. The demon-spawn creature paused in front of her, about five feet, then grinned maliciously and lunged, Lily now backtracking for everything she was worth. A lab-coated figure stepped up, striking out with something that was a blur at first, but soon revealed to be a gun, a rifle more specifically. The figure was Professor Krane, who took quick and careful aim, shooting what proved to be a tranquilizer. It struck Michael on the shoulder, and within seconds he fell to the floor, unconscious. Lily breathed heavily, asking

"Charles… what is that? What's going on?!" Krane looked back at her, replying

"This is a special tranquilizer gun I made some time ago. It's designed to knock out Shadow Beings, those with excess amounts of shadow energy. I don't know what's going on, but clearly Michael is more damaged than we thought." A series of whining grunts wracked Lily's throat, and she broke down as the professor called on some colleagues to help him tie up Michael so he didn't go back on a rampage. After they finished doing that, they began to debate where to take him next, because he was simply too dangerous to keep at the lab. After a while, they agreed to take him to an asylum, where hopefully he could get some professional help.

**Orre General Asylum**

The warden had never seen a case like this before, where a person became a demon. Yes, he had seen people who _believed _they were demons, and some tried to act on that, but never to this extent! The boy the distraught family had brought in could barely be described as a boy anymore, given his tendency to attack off the bat. And then there was the appearance, unnatural as it was, scarier still was the fact that it was natural in its own respect. So far, the best solution had been complete and total solitary confinement within a heavily padded room. Only behind the Plexiglas window did the doctors observing him feel safe, though several were brave enough to try and examine him further, provided he was restrained and with a mask over his mouth, as he had tried to use his teeth to attack when restrained.

After a couple months, once the details of Citadark Isle had been pushed through to them, the doctors determined that Michael had been damaged by the shadow energy, being altered to a Shadow Being himself, explaining why Professor Krane's tranquilizer worked on him. Naturally, Lily was overly distraught about the matter, and no one blamed her. For now, though, there was no help for Michael other than time, alone, and hopefully his consciousness would push through and restore him to normalcy. But no one could be sure.

**Michael's POV…**

The months drag by, and here I am in this shadowy abyss, never ending, and the torture never stops. I can still remember that day on Citadark Isle, being torn to shreds by the shadow pokemon. I would almost say I was dead, but the pain still lingers, and it should stop in death, right? I already know I was cursed, so is this it? Am I cursed to live in pain forever?

Well, whatever the situation, I know I'm not dead because I keep getting these flashes, more and more frequent, about what's going on in the real world, or so I think it is. I really hope not, though; it looks like I'm trying to kill my family, and who are these doctors? Why am I being chained? Where am I, anyway?

None of this makes any sense, there's no reason to this madness, and everything I knew is all over the place, a jumbled mess! Is there any escape, at all?

Wait a second… what is that? It couldn't be… but it's unmistakable in this abyss, it's light! Could that be the way out? Whatever it is, it has to be better than here. I'm fighting my way to it now, but the shadows all hold me back, but they won't stop me! I'm a Ryuto, after all, and my father wouldn't give up! How I wish he was here to help me, but I'm on my own now.

"_You're never truly alone, Michael…" _What the hell was that?! Who knew what I was thinking, and is there someone in my head?

"_I am here to help. I've seen your efforts, Michael, and the time has come for you and I to speak. But first…" _The light grew brighter, and the shadow's strength waned. Suddenly I was able to fight through the shadows, and not long after I didn't have to fight at all. Now I was just floating in an empty space. Black, yes, but not like the shadows, more of a blank nothingness, devoid of anything but quite capable of holding something. The light in front of me is beginning to take form, and once it's finished, I see what looks kinda like a Girafarig, though it's all white and gray, doesn't have a head on its tail, and does have a massive gold hoop circling its waist. What is this thing?

"_My name is Arceus, the creator of the universe, and the Giver of Life." _How does this thing know what I'm thinking?

"_I'm capable of many things, Michael. Hearing your thoughts while standing among them is trivial." _Well, I guess that explains that, but what does it want with me?

"_I've been watching you journey throughout your homeland. I must admit, you've piqued my interest, and I have a proposition for you." _This is starting to get weird; the creator of the universe is watching over me, and wants to make a deal with me? Why didn't it help me sooner, or just completely get rid of Cipher?

"_I do not directly interfere in the lives of my creations, unless I must, or will gain something by it." _Oh, so it's selfish. Well, that clears things up.

"_Do not misunderstand me. At the moment, we are far off the beaten track, so I will jump back to the matter of my visit. Michael, you have the potential to become one of my knights, an elite corps designed to protect various parts of my earthly realm. The spot I offer to you is a position known as the Guardian of Pokemon. However, you are incomplete, and dangerous in your own way. I need you to fill out before recruiting you first, so I come bearing gifts." _Gifts, huh? What all can you offer me that I can't get on my own?

"_I will place a block on this shadow that pervades your mind. It's powerful, though, and now an integral part of you. I cannot rid it without destroying a part of you. I'm sorry." _Well, that figures. But does this mean I'll get my sanity back? Will I be human again?

"_I cannot guarantee this will fully succeed, but I certainly will try my best. Another gift I have for you is an extra sense. This will warn you of impending danger, though it won't be able to tell you precisely what the danger is. There is only so much I can get away with." _Damn, I wish I'd had that before, it could've really helped!

"_Indeed. Finally, I have some trials for you to pass." _I knew this would come with strings attached. So I can't just retire or something?

"_Come now, we both know you wouldn't retire. This involves all the regions of the world. You will travel them one at a time, taking down every villain you encounter." _Seriously?! I have to travel the world?! _And_ I have to go through this again?!

"_It will not be like it was here. And besides, while your efforts here were admirable, you are still a child, and more lies ahead that will be similar to what you shall experience. I will leave shortly, and when I do, I will place that barrier I promised you, and leave a compulsion to do what I told you. However, you will not have any memory of this conversation. I cannot have you trying to please me directly; your actions will speak for you." _So let me see if I've got this straight; I get to travel the world, thrashing bad guys, while having this looming threat in my head, and not even know why?

"_Perhaps it sounds bad that way, but I assure you it will pay off in the end. Now, you will gradually come out of your Shadow State, and I suggest you don't leave for your first region until you are well again." _Great advice, considering I won't remember it. Yeah, way to go, genius.

The light faded away at this point, I guess it was done with me, and I felt like I was suddenly thrown back, away from- wait, from what, exactly? Was there something else here? I don't really know…

**Normal POV**

The months dragged on, at first without any change at all in the patient. After about five months collectively, however, a large change occurred. Overnight, it seemed, the fangs had disappeared, and the eyes were returned to a normal shade of blue. He still seemed volatile, and every night suffered from excruciating nightmares, despite the best efforts of the doctors. However, other than the nightmares, he was finally labeled as normal.

Michael's family was ecstatic to hear the news, of course, but worried that he would relapse. Everything was gently explained to Michael, the past several months, and he was appalled to learn that he had targeted his family, but relieved, oh so relieved, that he was stopped in time. After about a week of contact, he was deemed ready to return home. Along the way, he was mostly silent, listening to his mother and sister, especially his sister. For one reason or another, she seemed at ease around him, despite the fact that he felt so uneasy with himself.

At home, he wandered around, feeling odd. It felt like something was bugging him… some sort of alarm or other. It was enough that he could push it away for a short while, but it always remained at the back of his mind. Moreover, there was an odd compulsion to go somewhere… exactly where, he wasn't sure, and that was something he was going to ask about. He knocked on the open door of the lab, asking

"Professor?" The man looked over his shoulder, saw who it was, and replied

"Ah, hello, Michael. What can I do for you?" Michael walked inside, asking

"What lies beyond Orre?" Krane regarded him with confusion for a moment.

"What do you mean?" Michael elaborated

"There must be more in the world than just Orre. Are there other regions, too?" Understanding better, Krane replied

"Of course, Michael! We're not the only people who exist. Come over here…" Michael walked where directed, and Krane pulled out a world map he tacked to the wall.

"Our region is right here-" he placed a finger on an area that was mostly a sandy yellow-

"-and there are five other large regions, each different than the other. They all have their names, of course. Most interestingly, though, is that they all are fairly similar in one respect; the Pokemon League." Michael frowned, asking

"What's that?"

"It's a competition for pokemon trainers. It consists of gyms, led by special trainers, who hand out badges to people who beat them. There are eight in total for every region beyond ours, and those who collect them all have a chance to challenge the Elite Four and Champion of the region. Those who prevail are named the new Champion. There are more details, but I can't remember them at the moment." Michael blinked, absorbing the new information and becoming interested, very interested indeed.

"So, where's this?" He pointed high at a region that appeared to be in two parts, and at the southern area was a small chain of islands. Krane explained

"That's Kanto and Johto. It's typically the beginner's region, always a good starting point." Michael brought a hand to his chin, pondering, but the professor's suddenly sharp voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Michael, what's that?" He was motioning towards his wrists, and Michael pulled away, answering too quickly

"Nothing! It's nothing at all!" Krane wasn't fooled and caught him by the wrists, feeling a few grooves there. He yanked Michael's sleeve back, revealing several healing cuts on his inner arm.

"Michael, have you been slicing your wrists?!" Michael fought against him, but couldn't wrench himself out of the adult's grip. He shamefully admitted

"When you're all asleep, I try to feel something. Right now I can't feel anything, not pain, not pleasure, not anything."

"Michael, this is serious! How long have you been doing this?!" Michael looked at the floor, admitting

"Since I got back. But I swear, the last time was last week! I'm pretty much giving up on this." Krane sighed, replying

"It doesn't matter, this is still a serious problem. I'm going to tell your mother about this, and tomorrow we're going to see someone about it." Michael's eyes lit up with panic, and he watched as Krane left. He racked his brains for a solution, and his eyes fell on the map, specifically Kanto. His eyes lost their panicked state, and he muttered to himself

"I gotta go. That's the only solution." Set in his mind, he ran out the door and veered to his room. He dumped out his pack and hurriedly packed his tent and sleeping bag, then paused. He needed clothes, but should he get other clothes? It was likely that news of his escapade here would travel around. Surely the regions were connected, and what would happen if someone recognized him? He needed to completely become a new person to avoid such a fate.

He shook his head, hard; that would have to be something to go over later, he would leave tonight, shortly after everyone went to sleep. Worst of all, though, he couldn't take his pokemon with him. They would only attract attention, and that was something he had to avoid. He quickly checked his funds, realizing he had oodles of cash, which could be used for a disguise. He sighed in relief at that, then quickly stuffed his pack out of sight. Shortly after, his mother came in, not so much disappointed as she was sad, but promising she was going to help. However, Michael had different plans.

**That Night**

Michael sat awake in his bed, waiting until ten o'clock, when the majority of the residents of the research lab turned in for the night. He had made sure to prepare for every eventuality, and while there was a guard outside his door to make sure he didn't grab any knives, there was nothing out his window. They probably didn't think he would go that far.

When ten rolled around, Michael grabbed his pack, made sure he had his card on him, and gently, quietly, climbed out the window, dropping softly to the ground. He already decided ahead of time that he wouldn't take his scooter; it was very conspicuous, and he was trying to avoid that as much as possible. He instead ran, capable of doing it for many hours because of his self-inflicted training against Cipher, in a way glad for it now.

Once he reached a small town, he stopped by the local shop, quickly buying a few pairs of faded pants, a few white shirts, a couple red vests, and a black wig. He was slightly unsure about the wig, but reasoned the further he broke away from being Michael Ryuto, the less suspicious he would be. He tried the wig on for size, finding it worked well in hiding his red hair, but was a bit loose. He quickly looked around, spotting a red hat with a half pokeball logo. He snatched it up, placing it on his head. He liked the effect it had and decided to take it. He walked up to the counter with all his items, and the clerk appeared quite happy with the customer, regardless of whether or not he was only a child. Michael made his purchases, stuffed them in his pack, and immediately headed back out, aiming for Gateon Port.

It took him throughout the entire night to make it, taking a couple breaks when he absolutely needed it, but at sunrise he was walking into the building for the ships. He walked up to the counter, slightly breathless, and asked

"What's the soonest ship to Kanto?" The attendant blinked in surprise, then looked over the schedule, replying

"In fifteen minutes."

"Perfect. One-way ticket, please." He slid his card on the counter, it checked through, and he managed to get his ticket. He made his way to the ship, getting on just as it was ready to leave port. He looked for his room, eventually finding it. He set his pack inside, then brought out a note and pokeball. He walked to the top deck, releasing a Pidgeotto he'd found as a shadow pokemon who didn't want to return to the wild. He shrunk the pokeball, attached the letter to it, and handed it off to the bird.

"Take this back to the Pokemon Research Lab. It'll explain everything." The bird nodded uncertainly and took off, heading back for land. Michael sighed, then went back to his room, where he donned his new clothing, assuming disguise. Looking in the mirror, he ruminated how intimidating this figure was.

"This is good, I don't look like myself at all. Now I just need a name to compliment and finish it off." He paced around the room for a while, thinking hard, but names were not his specialty. Especially not for himself. He looked back in the mirror, and finally stated

"Fuck it, I'll just go by Red." From then on, he referred to himself as Red, but as time went by, he became progressively more quiet, soon realizing it was best that way, since if he didn't speak, no one could recognize his voice. He sat on the bed, thinking about how far he had come in just a few short days.

_Well, whatever happens, I can't risk going home. Not yet. I'm going to travel over Kanto for a while, I might even try out their Pokemon League. But until I win, I won't go home. I have to show them I can handle myself, and I will. And hopefully I can avoid this troubled past involving Cipher."_

**Whew, that was crazy to write out! Sorry if it seems both jumbled and rushed, but there wasn't much to do in the line of spacing. Anyway, next we'll see Michael, or Red now, in Kanto, beginning his reign there. Hope to see you all!**


	9. Ch 9: Kanto, The Beginning

**So, we're going to kick things off with some excitement here, in a new region, with new places and things to explore!**

Michael, now Red, stepped off the large ship he'd been on for several weeks now, with nothing exciting or eventful happening. Many other people disembarked the ship as well, in this small town on the southern tip of Kanto. He'd been placed where he was recommended for starting a new pokemon journey. He had to meet up with someone called Professor Oak, who would explain things and set him up for the journey. He walked through the small town, learning ahead of time that it was called Pallet Town.

Red at this time had become a veritable mute, which put off a fair number of people, but he didn't care at the time. Nor did he much care now. All that mattered to him at the moment was setting up his journey and heading out. After a few frustrating minutes, in which time he found the professor's lab (which, unfortunately, he wasn't in) and decided to just try his luck. He angled for the northern exit to the route, but a sudden voice called out urgently

"Stop!" He paused, wondering what it was. He looked behind him in time to see an aged man, still appearing spry, run up to him.

"Wait, please! You don't have any pokemon with you!" Red thought to himself

"_Well, that professor wasn't where he was supposed to be, so whose fault is that?" _The man considered something for a moment, then exclaimed

"I've got it! Follow me to my lab for a moment!" Red lifted an eyebrow, wondering

"_So _you're _the guy I was supposed to meet?"_ True to his falsified nature, however, he didn't speak a word as he walked behind the, supposedly, professor back to the large building through the smaller arrays of buildings of the tiny town. Eventually they made it to the professor's work area, where he turned around to face Red.

"So, let me properly introduce myself. My name is Professor Samuel Oak. I'm a leading professor of pokemon, often regarded as the top professor. Each of us has a branch of pokemon that we study. My area of interest is the number of pokemon in the world. Just how many exist in this expansive planet, that we know of and don't? It's been my goal since I was younger than you to find out. But now I've been rambling on for a while. Now then, let's begin with picking your partner-" The door behind them slammed open, and Red turned to see an arrogant-looking boy with spiky brown hair, plain blue shirt, and slightly baggy jeans walk up.

"Gramps! I'm tired of waiting! And who's the new guy?" Red looked at the boy, not sure whether to ignore or clobber him. However, he was sorely tempted to clobber him. Professor Oak smacked a fist into his open palm, saying

"Oh yes, I forgot, I asked you to come here!" He turned to Red, explaining

"This is my grandson, Blue! Or at least, that's what he goes by, refusing just about any other name." Blue rolled his eyes, remarking

"Well, you asked me to come here, Gramps! So, am I going to get my pokemon already?" Red scowled at his behavior, which seemed very inappropriate to him, but didn't say anything. Oak replied

"In a moment, Blue. First let's let-" he paused for a moment, then turned to Red, remarking

"I didn't get your name. What is it?" Here Red paused, uncertain at this point. He still wasn't going to talk, but how did he communicate the name? Just write it down? After a few moments, he gained an idea and removed his hat, making careful sure his wig didn't come off, and passed a hand over the material, on the red portion, and Oak tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm sorry?" Red held the hat up, pointing at the red portion, and Oak asked uncertainly

"Hat?" Red facepalmed, but when Blue scoffed

"Duh, Gramps, it's obvious! He's sayin' his name's Red." Red looked at Blue, surprised he had understood that. Oak asked

"Is that right?" Red nodded as he placed his hat back on his head firmly, and Oak continued

"Well then, Red, let's go and see the available starters for you to choose from." He led the boys over to a pedestal, where three regular pokeballs sat atop in indentations. Oak picked them up and, one by one, released the pokemon inside. The first was a blue turtle-like creature, with a tail that curled upward and spiraled. The second was a dinosaur sort of plant, with a large head in proportion to its body and a massive bulb on its back. The last was an orange lizard that was unremarkable with the exception of the fire on the end of its tail. Oak asked him

"You get to choose any one of them, so which one do you want?" Red considered his options, knowing already based on their appearance what types they were. After several moments, he pointed to the orange Lizard.

"Ah, you want Charmander?" Red nodded, and Oak returned the Charmander to its pokeball, handed it to Red, and asked

"Do you want to name it?" Red paused for a moment, then indicated he would do it later. Blue walked up then, straight up pointing at the turtle pokemon and said

"Then I'll take this one!" Oak nodded and returned it, handing it over. Red turned and began to leave, but Blue's voice stopped him.

"Hey, Red, hold up!" Red stopped, facing Blue, who shouted

"Let's have a battle!" He tossed out his pokemon, Squirtle, and Oak sighed.

"Oh, Blue… Well, Red, I guess you're really engrossed in your adventure now. It's very simple, just send out your pokemon, then…" At this point Red tuned him out, quite familiar with the physics of battling, but unsure what moves Charmander knew. Nevertheless, he sent it out. Blue told him

"Alright, start off!" Red looked at his pokemon for a moment, narrowed his eyes, then asked so silently that even Charmander had a hard time hearing him, while the humans didn't hear anything at all

"Scratch?" The Charmander seemed slightly irritated that he didn't speak up, but went to enact the command anyway. It raked its claws down Squirtle, doing moderate damage. Blue commanded

"Pound!" The Squirtle waddled up surprisingly fast and struck with a balled fist in Charmander's chest. Charmander growled, and Red commanded softly

"Scratch." Charmander rushed forward again, striking for further damage. This time Blue commanded

""Tail Whip!" The Squirtle turned around and wagged its tail at Charmander, who seemed to relax ever so slightly. Red scowled a bit, telling it

"Scratch." When Charmander raked its claws again, they were covered in a brief white light, signifying a critical hit, and it was that which caused Squirtle to faint, taking it out of the game. Blue shouted in disbelief, returning it quickly, and said disparagingly

"Feh, you got lucky this time!" Red's trainer card lit up momentarily, telling him his prize money had been downloaded, though he was familiar already with the concept. Red returned his Charmander, and Blue said more loudly than was necessary

"Like I said, you got lucky. Gramps, Red, smell ya later!" He walked off, practically strutting out. Oak just sighed and wished Red good luck, he nodded in reply, and walked out himself. He angled back up to the route Oak had prevented him from taking before. He found an array of Rattata and Pidgey, which he had seen before and had no inclination to catch. He moved on, taking down a few trainers in the process. The route, Route One, if he remembered correctly, was fairly short, and within no time he made it through the tunnel-like structure to the next area.

He checked the sign, which told him Viridian City. He visited the local Pokemon Center, where he had the Charmander healed. Once that was finished, he decided to check out the PokeMart, hoping to find some supplies that would prove useful in the journey he planned ahead. When he entered, though, the attendant looked quickly at him.

"Oh! Did you just come from Pallet Town?" Red nodded hesitantly, and the attendant sighed in relief.

"Good. We have a package for Professor Oak, but no way to deliver it. Can I ask you to deliver it to him?" Red was slightly irritated at this, but decided not to make a case out of it. Instead he nodded and walked over, the attendant telling him

"Thank you. Just take it straight to him." Red received the parcel and put it safely in his pack, then walked out and headed back south. After a short amount of time, due to the ledges he could jump over to quicken the pace, he arrived back in Pallet Town, aiming right at the Professor's Lab. He walked inside and headed straight for Professor Oak, who spotted him. He said

"Ah, just the one I was looking for!" Before Red could wonder why, the door opened and Blue came back in, once again louder than was necessary.

"Hey Gramps, why'd you call me back?"

"Oh, good, Blue. You're finally here. Well, I called you back because I wanted to give you both something. However, I'm still waiting on a package, so until it arrives…" Red smirked and snapped his fingers to catch his attention. He whipped the pack around on his shoulder, bringing out the parcel. He held it out to Oak, who took it excitedly.

"Where did you get this?" Red looked around for a moment, then walked up to a map, pointing to Viridian City. Oak laughed nervously and said

"Oh yeah, I meant to go pick it up, but I must've forgot!" Red facepalmed and Blue rolled his eyes. Oak laughed nervously again, then opened the package up, taking out two red devices. They were square in shape, with a line of lights that shrank as it went down. The top one was blue while the rest were red-orange. He motioned Red over to them and he walked back. Oak handed the two devices to Red and Blue, explaining

"Those are a creation of mine called a PokeDex. It's a high-tech encyclopedia of pokemon; just aim it at any pokemon and you can learn what it is. However, you won't get the actual information on them until you actually catch it. My goal is to see the completion of the PokeDex." Red and Blue looked at each other askance for a moment, then turned their gazes back on Oak.

"Well, a guy can dream, can't he?" Blue remarked

"I'll take care of this, all on my own!" He turned to Red, telling him arrogantly

"Sorry to say this, but you won't be necessary. Smell ya later!" Red scowled for a moment, then walked out, going back to Viridian City. Before he left the small town, though, a small voice called out

"Hey, hold up!" He looked behind him to see a small girl running up, holding something in her hands. She caught up with him, panting slightly, and said

"My big brother told me specifically not to give a map to you. But he's not the boss of me, and besides, you might need it down the road!" She held out what looked like two long tubes of hollow plastic, held together by a piece of paper. Red pulled them apart, revealing a map of Kanto. He nodded, thanking her, and continued on his way to Viridian City.

Once there, he healed his pokemon again, then angled for the Viridian City Gym, only to find out that it was locked, with the leader missing, nor having any identification on his or her sign. Red scowled for a moment before shrugging and heading instead for Viridian Forest. He took on a few Bug Trainers, which proved easy for his Charmander to handle, and soon enough entered the famed maze-forest. Upon entering, Red quickly realized this would take some time to traverse. Nevertheless, he pressed forward, taking on a series of Bug Trainers and wild bug pokemon. Everything was fairly easy for the fire lizard to handle, but it seemed irritated, no doubt, at Red for his continued silence. He would have to explain that tonight.

Close to the end of his journey through the forest, he spotted something he hadn't seen in a while. It was the electric mouse pokemon, Pikachu. He remembered, when he was still Michael in Orre, that Eagun had one himself. Now he was interested; would it be beneficial for he himself to have one?

Red bent down on one knee, beckoning for the small mouse pokemon to come closer. It seemed reluctant to, but something in the boy's eyes reassured it. Once it came within range, Red began to gently pet it, which it seemed to enjoy. After a few minutes, Red asked quietly

"D'you want to come with me?" Its ears twitched in response, looking at him curiously. Red smiled at it, saying

"I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. I'm on my way to take on this region's League, and I plan to win. You wanna be a part of that?" After a moment of consideration, it cried out, appearing to agree with his proposal. Red smiled again and fished out a pokeball, telling it

"Then I need to catch you, so I can keep you safe, alright?" The Pikachu sniffed the pokeball, accidentally tapping the button with its nose. It dissolved into red energy and was sucked into the pokeball, and Red watched in slight astonishment as it rocked in his hand for a couple seconds until it clicked, telling him it caught. He blinked, surprised slightly by these events. After a couple moments, however, he accepted it and clipped the ball to his belt, held magnetically. In some interest, he took out the rectangular red device Oak gave him, the PokeDex, and opened it up. He looked it over, seeing the Charmander and Pikachu he'd caught so far, as well as Rattata and Pidgey. He frowned a bit, clicking on Pikachu, and the PokeDex said in a male, droning voice

"_Pikachu, the Mouse Pokemon. It stores electricity in its cheek pouches, and when many of them gather in a storm, lightning tends to strike the group." _Red blinked, surprised enormously. He had never seen such a device before, it was completely foreign to him. Nevertheless, it was very interesting. Interested, he clicked on Charmander's picture, and the voice droned

"_Charmander, the Lizard Pokemon. The flame on its tail is an indicator of Charmander's health; when the flame burns brightly, it is healthy. If the flame is dim and wavering, it is close to death." _Red questioned the wisdom of putting it so bluntly as that. However, there was no doubt that it would be useful in keeping his pokemon in top shape. He closed the device and walked back out of the forest to Viridian, since it was the closest city according to his map. There he had his pokemon healed, then considered where it would be best to set up camp. He was walking out the door when the nurse behind him called out

"Excuse me, are you leaving at this time of night?" Red looked behind him, seeing that the nurse was genuinely concerned. Red paused for a moment, then nodded, and the nurse told him

"But it's dangerous at night!" Red smirked at the notion;

"_It can't be any worse than Orre was on a regular basis." _The nurse insisted

"You should stay here for the night, and you can be on your way in the morning." Red shook his head, rubbing his fingers together to signify that his funds were currently fairly low. The nurse shook her head, telling him

"No, it's free to trainers. All you need is your trainer card to prove you're a trainer, and you can get a free room. The Pokemon Centers all provide this service." Red frowned for a moment, wishing he knew that when he was Michael. However, it was still of no interest to him. He shook his head, resigned, and walked out before the nurse could protest. He looked around for a moment, ignoring the declining temperature. He noticed a western path that he ignored before, and becoming curious about where it led, he walked down toward it. It proved to be another route, but it was fairly short, and at the end a massive building could be seen. Thinking it probably wouldn't serve his purpose to try his luck, he decided to make camp here.

He set the pack down, bringing out the tent he packed back in Orre. Orre… How was everyone back there? By this time they well knew that he was gone, and surely the Pidgeotto had gotten the message to them. Were they searching for him now? Or were they too depressed at his sudden departure to do anything? In retrospect, he regretted doing that to them, but he had to get away, he wasn't going to be locked up again!

Shaking his head of the thoughts, he set up his camp, placing the sleeping bag inside. He looked up at the sky, and while the lights of Viridian were partially visible, most of the sky was devoted to the stars, forming bands across the blotted surface. Taking a deep breath, he pulled both pokeballs off his waist, calling out his pokemon. They looked up at him expectantly, though Charmander also had a haughty sort of look on its face that Red didn't particularly like. He took out his PokeDex and aimed it at Charmander, learning its moves and gender, male. He did the same to Pikachu, also male, and its moves as well. Once he drank his fill, he put the device away and began to speak to them.

"Alright, guys, here's the deal. Charmander, you seemed angry with me earlier; was it because I was quiet?" The lizard seemed surprised for only a moment before its haughty look returned and it faced the other way. Pikachu looked at him curiously, and Red sighed, saying to him

"I have a good reason for that. If you'll turn back to me, I'll tell you everything." Charmander appeared reluctant to listen, but overwhelming curiosity got the best of him and he faced him. "Red" sighed and sat on the ground, reached up, and removed the hat and wig all in one fell swoop, revealing his red hair, and reached up with two fingers, bringing contacts out of his eyes. Pikachu and Charmander's mouths fell open in shock, and "Red" smirked.

"My real name is Michael Ryuto. My true home is the Orre region. I came here because I lost my sanity there, and after a while managed to get it back. However, other people were insistent I needed help and were going to lock me away, so I ran for it, taking the first ship to Kanto. Now I'm going to participate in the League to show them I can survive just fine on my own. However, I need a team to do that, and so far, that's you two." Charmander scowled and pelted him with embers. Michael shielded his face, and once the assault was over he remarked

"I guess I deserved that. Still, this doesn't change the fact that I'm responsible for you both now, as well as whoever I enlist to help us. Plus, I don't want to see a repeat of this; I won't pretend to be your owner, master, or any of that nonsense. You are not my slave; however, I _do _expect to be treated with respect and dignity." Charmander scowled for a moment, and Michael considered him for a moment.

"I've also been thinking of a name for you. How does this strike you? Blaze." Charmander scowled for a moment, then fired more embers. Michael ducked, avoiding them, and muttered

"I thought it was good." He sat back up, continuing

"Well, if you don't like that, then how about a differentiation? Blitz." Charmander reared to fire again, but paused. He considered the name for a moment, appearing to like it, but didn't say anything, just turning away instead. Michael rolled his eyes, remarking

"Great, I've got a tsundere pokemon; just what I needed. Well, it looks like you like the name, so we'll just stick with it. Your name is now Blitz." He looked at Pikachu, who appeared hopeful, and told him regretfully

"Sorry, I don't have a name for you yet. However, I'll be working on it. So, you two know my true identity now, and to better explain myself, I don't want to speak around other humans, because I fear any one of them might recognize me as the savior of the Orre region, and I'll never get a moment's peace." Blitz looked at him like he was paranoid, which he was, but he would not be swayed.

"I'm keeping the disguise as well so that if there is a search party out for me, they won't be able to find me. Now, I'll still be giving you your commands, but they're going to be quiet. I doubt Pikachu will have a hard time hearing me, but I know this could be difficult for you, Blitz. However, I want us to be able to work amiably together. So, whattya say?" Pikachu was right on board, running up to him and climbing up on his shoulder, where he called out happily. Blitz appeared less certain, but something about his countenance spoke strength, unwavering determination. Perhaps it would be in his best interest to let the boy work with him for a while, and if he turned out a big disappointment, he could just leave. He walked over, not quite as physically accepting as his comrade, but accepting his new master nonetheless for the moment.

"Thank you. I promise I'm going to do everything to help you guys draw out your power, and together we'll beat the League." They nodded and he donned his disguise again, returning to his alias Red. They all had something to eat, Red having to explain his diet to them, and afterward he returned them, retiring to his tent for the night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, Red woke up bright and early, exiting the tent and quickly packing it, using the technique he developed in Orre and setting the pack on his right shoulder, leaving the other strap hanging. He decided to check out the large building. He walked through the tall grass to the sidewalk-like walkway, seeing a familiar figure toward the end. Closer inspection revealed Blue, his newest rival, who turned around and spotted him. He walked up, his voice coated with arrogance as he said

"So, you made it this far, eh? But you don't even have a single badge on you! Your pokemon must be weak!" Red scowled at him, dropping his pack and drawing up Blitz's pokeball, holding it up in a clear challenge. Blue smirked, replying

"Oh, ya wanna take me on, eh? Fine, I'll beat you in the dust this time!" Red scoffed and tossed out his pokemon, Blue sending out a Pidgey. He commanded

"Scratch!" Red mumbled to Blitz

"Ember." Blitz fired his attack, striking the small bird multiple times. It threw its wings aside, dispelling the remaining embers, and flapped hard, taking off and flying forward. It used its talons, raking down Blitz's face. He snarled and fired more embers, torching the bird up close and taking it effectively down. Blue scowled and returned it, remarking

"Pure luck. You won't get nearly as far this time." He sent out his Squirtle, and Red returned Blitz, sending out Pikachu in his stead.

"Oh, so you got yourself another pokemon, too? Well, it won't match up! Squirtle, Tail Whip!" Red mumbled

"ThunderShock." Pikachu charged a short amount of power, the most it could currently handle, and fired the small bolt, striking it directly. Squirtle winced slightly, then turned and wagged its tail at him, lowering his Defense. Red commanded silently again

"ThunderShock." Blue shouted

"Pound!" Pikachu's Speed won out, and the bolt struck first, paralyzing Squirtle. It winced again but managed to slam its tail into Pikachu. Red smirked, repeating

"ThunderShock." Pikachu fired one more time, downing Squirtle. Blue scowled again and returned it, turning his head away and scoffing

"Whatever, I was having a bad day and you just got lucky!" Red rolled his eyes, irritated that he couldn't lose with dignity.

"By the way, since you didn't know, this is the entrance to the Elite Four. But you need all the badges before you can even think to take them on, so you'll never make it. Anyway, smell ya later!" He walked off, hands in his pocket, and Red shook his head sadly. Since he now knew what this was, and was at the moment unattainable, he turned back to Viridian City. He wormed back through Viridian Forest, taking down pokemon that attacked him and trainers that challenged him. Eventually he came out, his pokemon weary from the journey, and checked his map for his location, which told him Pewter City.

He walked into the large-looking town, finding the Pokemon Center fairly easily. He healed his pokemon and angled for the PokeMart, restoring some of his supplies. After that, he was slightly confused as to what he should do next. He walked around the city, finding several residences and a museum, but he had to pay to enter, and quite frankly, he was saving his money. Thinking perhaps more opportunities to train existed through the other exit to the city, he tried to leave, but a man stopped him, complaining that he didn't have a Boulder Badge from the local gym leader, Brock. He proceeded to lead him through the city, taking him to the Pewter City Gym.

"Here, get your badge here, and then you can safely continue your journey." He promptly left, leaving Red wondering if collecting the badges was really worth the trouble. However, he walked inside, finding a two-part path, one which led straight down to a stage of sorts, and the other a bit more convoluted, presumably to avoid the trainer set on the straightforward path. Figuring he could use the extra money, he decided to take on the trainer, who promptly told him he'd never let him pass to bother Brock.

Red quickly found out that the gym sported Rock type pokemon, which left him in a slight dilemma; his pokemon were weak, because it also seemed that the Rock types had some Ground background. All in all, he was in a bad spot. He remembered seeing a couple Mankey on the route next to Viridian, toward the Kanto League, but they were too unruly for his tastes. And of course, nothing else along the way was of any practical uses against Rock, the most prevalent being Bug and Flying. He'd have to make due for the time being.

He managed to beat the gym trainer, but it was difficult, to say the least. He needed to do some intense training. He quickly left the gym, healed his pokemon, and took them out to the previous route. Most of the pokemon here were below level five, which would make this process not only arduous, but very time-consuming. However, he wasn't willing to take his chances, so with that in mind, he set out to begin.

**A Week and a Half Later…**

Red huffed as he came out of the Pokemon Center, ruminating on the past several days. Blitz at this point was itching for a worthy opponent, and Pikachu might have been losing faith in him. However, Red was unwilling to gamble with their win-loss ratio, wanting to keep things in his favor if possible. By this point, his pokemon were each level seventeen, though for some reason Blitz wasn't evolved yet. Was he deliberately holding himself back? Did he despise Red so much that he wouldn't even allow himself to get naturally stronger? Well, whatever the case, he had learned a new move that Red was particularly happy about, Metal Claw. Because of its Steel typing, it would be able to deal a lot of damage to the Rock type pokemon found in the gym, which he intended to beat.

He walked to and entered the gym, able to pass by the gym trainer this time and approached the stage-like structure. Standing atop it was a man in a brown and orange vest, black shirt underneath, and tan-brown khakis. His hair was black-brown and spiky, and eyes closed, a style Red, or even Michael, hadn't seen much. He uncrossed his arms, remarking

"So, you're back. I watched you beat my predecessor, but left right after. Why? Were you afraid to take me on?" Red's face settled into a slight scowl, ticked off by the idea. Brock continued

"I share a bond with my pokemon that can't be matched! Let's see how well you do!" The first pokemon he threw out was Geodude, and Red tossed out Blitz. Brock called out

"Tackle!" Red commanded quietly in retaliation

"Metal Claw." Blitz's claws and hand became covered with a silver sheen, and he rushed forward as Geodude did, slashing just in time to stop Geodude's assault. One of the things Red capitalized on was timing during their training session. Brock commanded

"Rock Tomb!" Red replied

"Metal Claw." Blitz struck first again, his Speed much higher than the rock pokemon's, but when the time came for its attack, it landed for massive damage, also taking down Blitz's speed slightly. Red cursed in his mind but forged on.

"Metal Claw."

"Defense Curl!" Luckily, Blitz's speed was still above Geodude's, and managed to get the strike in. The move was also pronounced by a brief white light; a critical hit. Geodude struck the ground and passed out, unable to continue battling. Red sighed in relief, inaudibly of course, and Brock returned his pokemon. As Blitz came back for a Potion, Brock remarked

"I think I get why you left now; you went to take care of training your pokemon so you stood a better chance against me. Not many trainers have beat me with a Fire type before." Red nodded in humble gratitude, then sent Blitz back out on the field. Brock raised his last gym pokemon, telling Red

"I've had this one for many years; our bond is unbreakable." He released the pokemon inside, a massive rock snake consisted of large boulders somehow connected together, becoming smaller as they descended to the tail. At the head, the face looked like it was roughly carved, with a large horn adorning the top of its head. Altogether, it could probably swallow him whole. He hoped Blitz was strong enough to handle this as he commanded

"Metal Claw." Brock called out

"Tackle!" Blitz ran up, displaying metallic claws, but the Onix swung its tail, slamming into the Charmander's midriff and ending the attack abruptly. Charmander slammed and bounced on the ground, Red watching intensely for any sign of damage. However, Blitz stood back up, his face fairly angry now. Red nodded imperceptibly, glad he could still fight, and said

"Metal Claw."

"Rock Tomb!" Red narrowed his eyes, watching as Blitz charged forward, this time slashing with the metallic claws and dealing decent damage. Onix roared loudly before slamming its tail into the floor, throwing a small batch of rocks into the air, which it swatted in Blitz's direction with its tail. Blitz was struck hard and heavy, taking his speed down even further. Red scowled slightly, holding up his two pokeballs and quickly returned Blitz, substituting Pikachu in one fell swoop. It was a technique he was developing, and hopefully he would master it soon, but for now he had other priorities; by taking Blitz out of the field of battle, his stats would be restored to normal, and he could focus on healing him while commanding Pikachu

"Quick Attack." He knew already that the Normal move wouldn't be very effective against the Rock type, but it was more of a distraction. Red planned to send Blitz back I once his health had been repaired, and at the same time was hoping that Pikachu could pull through long enough to accomplish making Onix easier to take down. Brock in the meantime commanded

"Bind!" Red cursed as he realized this would put a dent in his immediate plan. While Pikachu was under the effect of Bind, he couldn't be pulled out of battle. The best chance was that he would manage to get out of the rock snake's hold in short time, or else be able to hang on long enough not to faint before Red could switch him out. He watched as Pikachu crashed into Onix, only to be bound up in its rocky coils. It looked painful, but there was little Red could do at the moment. However, after a couple minutes, something happened to shift the tide. Onix suddenly flinched, yellow sparks dancing over its body, and Red elatedly realized that Pikachu's ability, Static, had paralyzed the Onix!

Onix released Pikachu, and Red quickly returned him to the ball, sending a refreshed Blitz back out. He smirked as he commanded softly

"Metal Claw." Brock ordered

"Onix, Rock Tomb!" Blitz looked practically like a blur in comparison to the paralyzed Onix, and struck hard and deep, inflicting massive damage and reaping the benefit of raised Attack. Onix was unable to move, and Red hoped to finish it off with the next attack.

"Metal Claw." Blitz charged forward again, slashing across its body and dealing the final blow. Onix came crashing down to the floor, the gym rumbling in response. Brock stared, not necessarily wide-eyed, but still shocked nonetheless. After a moment, he sighed and smiled, holding up the ball and returning his pokemon.

"Well, it's been a while since someone beat me, and with a Fire type pokemon no less! I'm proud to present you with your first official badge of the Kanto Region, the Boulder Badge!" He walked forward, presenting Red with a little piece of metal, shaped like a decently carved boulder. Brock continued

"With that badge, pokemon up to level twenty will follow your commands. I'll also give you this." He handed over a light brown disc object, explaining

"That's TM 41, Rock Tomb. When you use it, the opponent's speed will be lowered, but keep in mind that TMs break after one use, so be careful who you teach it to." Red nodded his thanks, placing the disc in one of the slots in his TM case. He opened up his vest-jacket, pinning the badge inside. His mission here done, he left the gym and quickly got his pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center. After that, he walked out of the city, taking the route he'd yet to explore, Route Four. He battled multitudes of trainers, beginning a trend of heading back to Pewter whenever his pokemon were worn out, but strengthening in the process of this journey.

Eventually he came to the end of the route, in the face of a steep cliff, far too treacherous to scale. Luckily a passage was granted by way of a cave system, the entire thing called Mt. Moon. There was also a nearby Pokemon Center he used before taking off on the trek through the cave. Inside he found more trainers, though of a slightly different variety. There were also swarms of Zubat, which while annoying he managed to brush off with Pikachu's help. Then something strange happened, when he was assaulted by a shady man dressed in a black suit with a large red R on the front, declaring himself part of a group called Team Rocket.

Red briefly remembered an article he'd seen a man reading in the Pokemon Center about Team Rocket, but the man was callous, so he quickly went on his way. Now, though, it was different; he was now in a fight against this Team Rocket grunt, but why he knew not. He simply beat the grunt, who was surprised, and went merrily on his way. After a short time, he came across a guy who was obsessing over two rocks with strange shapes on them, one in a helical pattern, and the other a distinct dome. The guy turned, spotting him, and shouted

"No, you can't have them! These fossils are _mine_!" Red scowled, and the man, a nerd by the looks of it, was cowed. He stuttered

"D-don't give me such an ugly glare… look, I'll battle you for 'em!" After a moment's consideration, he agreed, and mopped the floor with him. The guy was naturally surprised, and perhaps sore, as he said

"Okay, look, we'll share, alright? You pick one, and I'll take the other. Deal?" Red considered it, and despite the fact that this guy was a severe irritation, he decided to just go with it and move on. He nodded and perused the two rocks, and deciding on simplicity picked the Dome Fossil. The guy quickly walked up to the other, declaring

"Then this one is mine!" He went on his way directly after claiming his fossil, and so Red moved on as well. He encountered more pokemon, but none of which he was interested in adding to his team. Eventually he could see the bright light at the end that signaled the exit, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He was walking toward it when a small, protruding rock he stepped on sank down, and the ground beneath him rumbled slightly, before a small round rock with arms burst out, looking pissed off. Red recognized the Geodude and tried to back away instinctively, but it swung its arms at him. Red duck, then bolted for the exit.

More Geodude popped up, effectively blocking his path, and he stopped, trying to avoid a fight. One of his pokeballs popped open, and Blitz came out, yelling at the Geodude. Their mood only worsened and they attacked, and Blitz immediately launched into battle mode. The ensuing noise served to unbalance Red, or rather Michael's, mind, and he could feel himself beginning to slip back into insanity. He grabbed his head, trying to hang on, but it was becoming a losing battle. When he looked up, he could see that Blitz wasn't faring much better.

The sight angered him, and his eyes shifted to a blood-red color, though slightly dull, and roared in challenge to the Geodude. They all looked at him, the original antagonizer, and shifted their attacks to him. Red charged forward, swinging a shadowy fist and slamming it into the first Geodude's face. Blitz watched as his master defended him with some strange power that felt malicious, as did the person himself, but the boy he had worked with was still present, he could feel it. He fought to stand, quite beaten by the rocky fists. Once he reached his full height, he was surrounded by a glowing light. Everyone paused, watching as it grew.

When the light broke apart, what was revealed was a deep red lizardian figure, with a small head crest. The ivory-colored claws were elongated from its previous form, and altogether the new creature presented a fiercer image. It shouted its name, Charmeleon, and rushed forward, its claws shining like steel. Blitz shoved Red back, slamming his head into the rocky wall as he took on the contingent of Rock types. The blow to Red's head was exactly what he needed, as his senses began working again, and he was able to slip out of the shadowy haze that was overtaking him. He observed as Blitz, who he realized had finally evolved, was defending him. He could see the exit, closer than before, and knew that he had to make a break for it.

He crouched, waiting, until he saw his opportunity. Once it presented itself, he dashed forward, scooped Blitz up, and continued his momentum, pounding the ground with his feet as the light drew closer. He could hear the Geodude on his tail, though less than before. He assumed they were adverse to the sunlight outside and wouldn't follow them out. When he was just a couple feet from the exit, time seemed slowed as he leapt forward, Blitz still in his arms, and a couple Geodude taking a final swipe for him. They barely grazed him, and while he felt it, he ignored it and focused on getting out. Once he could feel the grass below him, he scrambled back up, looking behind him. However, as he suspected, the Rock pokemon weren't coming out of their cave.

He sighed in relief, then flopped to the grass, thinking he had never been so grateful for sunlight as he was then. Once he managed to catch his breath, he turned to Blitz, who was still sitting next to him, commenting

"I see you evolved." Blitz looked at him with interest, having only heard him actually talk once before. Red headed him off, telling him

"Don't get too used to it. Like I said, I'm avoiding detection by remaining silent, but since there's no one else around, I think I can risk it. Now I've got a question; why did you hold off for so long?" Blitz looked at the ground between his legs for a moment, then back up at his trainer. Although Red couldn't understand him verbally, he thought he understood the look in his eyes.

"You consider me a friend now?" Blitz nodded, and Red smiled.

"Well, I'm glad you can trust me now. I promise we're going far, and we're already a lot farther than Pallet Town." Blitz nodded in acknowledgment, and Red brought out his map, mumbling

"Where are we?" He looked on the other side of Mt. Moon, then traced it to the next city.

"Hmm… Cerulean City, huh? That oughta be interesting." He put the map away, held up Blitz's pokeball, and said

"Come on back and get some rest; you deserve it after the day we've had." Blitz nodded and willingly returned, and Rec sighed. Falling back into his silent personality, he began the trek to Cerulean City.

**Wow, that took a while, didn't it? I'm really sorry for the massive delay, but between school and life, things got out of hand. They should cool down pretty quickly, so I'll get back on this soon. Thank you all, and please review!**


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